Gypsum industry news

Oman: USG Zawawi Drywall SFZ 's US$37m state-of-the-art gypsum plant in Oman's Salalah Free Zone (SFZ) was inaugurated on 6 May 2015 marking the formal start of commercial production of a range of Sheetrock brand gypsum wallboard products earmarked primarily for export across the Middle East and Indian subcontinent. USG Zawawi Drywall SFZ is a 50:50 partnership between USG Corporation, Boral and Zawawi Minerals.

"We are pleased to see the opening of this successful US-Omani venture. Building relations between the US and Oman is a top priority of the US Embassy and this work is a shining example of the strategic coordination that benefits both our countries," said Ann Mason, economic-commercial officer from the US Embassy. "We applaud USG Boral and Zawawi Minerals for taking full advantage of the potential of Salalah Port and Free Zone and the US Oman Free Trade Agreement."

Commissioning of the Salalah plant, which has 8Mm²/yr of gypsum wallboard production capacity, began in March 2015. It was designed to enable future expansion to double wallboard production capacity or add new products like construction plaster. The plant will produce a wide range of Sheetrock gypsum boards, including products resistant to water, fire, sound, impact and mould. According to Curt Loring, general manager of USG Zawawi Drywall SFZ, it will produce products with special certifications not currently manufactured or available in the GCC. These products are specially engineered for custom wall systems in demand by architects for commercial construction.

The products will be marketed across the Gulf and Indian Subcontinent. Uptake is expected to be robust around the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), where a commercial construction boom is already underway. The raw gypsum is sourced entirely from a major gypsum quarry located in the Thamrait area of Dhofar Governorate. The quarry is operated by Zawawi Gypsum and is jointly-owned by USG-Boral and Zawawi Minerals.

"USG Zawawi Drywall's investment is in keeping with the Omani government's economic policies advocating the sustainable commercialisation of natural resources to diversify the economy, create employment for Omanis and facilitate inflows of investment and know-how. The Salalah facility operates to the same stringent safety and environmental standards applied by USG at its facilities in the US," said Alawi Al Zawawi, chairman of USG Zawawi Drywall SFZ.

Awadh Al Shanfari, CEO of Salalah Free Zone explained that the project is a re-enforcement of the Free Zone's commitment to maximise the Sultanate's mineral wealth through national and foreign partnership. "In the past, we have been focusing on projects that can create new industries linked to the available raw materials in the Sultanate. As a result of our endeavours, we will be announcing more investments during 2015," said Al Shanfari.

India/Oman: UltraTech Cement Middle East Investments, a wholly owned subsidiary of India's UltraTech Cement, has acquired a majority stake (51%) in Omani gypsum mining firm Awam Minerals LLC.

Awam Minerals has a license to mine substantial gypsum deposits in the south of Oman. It's gypsum mining license will serve as a captive mine for the network of cement plants owned by UltraTech Cement in India, two grinding units and a cement plant in the UAE, as well as a grinding unit in Bahrain through its Middle East subsidiary.

Oman: Zawawi Gypsum has loaded its first export consignment of gypsum from the port of Salalah. The vessel loaded 66,000Mt of gypsum destined for India. A press release said that the company expects exports to increase to 2Mt/yr within the next three years.

''This shipment is the beginning of a long-term relationship between the port and our company. This relationship will grow stronger when our facility in the free zone commences exports through the port. Salalah, with its proximity to the main trade lanes and direct main line connectivity to our export destination was the ideal location for our facility in Oman,'' said Ramachandran, CEO of Zawawi Minerals.

Zawawi Minerals has created two joint ventures with USG Corporation, Zawawi Gypsum and Zawawi Drywall. Zawawi Drywall is building a 8MM2/yr gypsum wallboard plant. The US$37m plant is expected to be opened in early 2015. It will target growing markets in the Middle East, India and East Africa.

Oman: USG-Zawawi Group and Bank Sohar have signed a US$45m deal to set up and run a gypsum quarry and gypsum wallboard plant in the Salalah Free Zone in Oman. The plant will have a production capacity of 8MM²/yr in its first phase, with a capacity of 16MM²/yr planned in accordance with future demand.

Zawawi Minerals LLC is an Oman-based company belonging to the Qais Zawawi Group. Zawawi Minerals is engaged in exploring and trading high-quality industrial minerals and metal ores, like limestone, gypsum, dolomite and chrome ore. USG's partnership with Zawawi has established two joint venture companies: Zawawi Gypsum LLC and USG-Zawawi Drywall LLC SFZ. The first joint venture develops infrastructure and operates a gypsum quarry, while the second joint venture will build and operate the new gypsum board plant in the Salalah Free Zone.

US/Oman: US-based USG Corporation (USG) has announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with the Zawawi Group of Oman to meet the growing demand for its building products in the Middle East and India. The investment by USG opens up new opportunities for the group in the rapidly-growing Indian and Middle Eastern wallboard markets and will provide local projects better access to USG's industry-leading wallboard products.

USG's partnership with the Zawawi Group will be in two phases. The first phase will be establishment of a mining joint venture through which USG will acquire 55% of Zawawi Gypsum, which holds the mining rights to a gypsum quarry in Salalah, Oman. The joint venture will develop infrastructure and operate the quarry. The quarry is near to many ports and is thus in an ideal location to provide raw material for future USG wallboard plants and cement plants run by other companies. Quarry mining operations are targeted for startup in the third quarter of 2013.

The second phase of the partnership will see the construction of a 50/50 manufacturing joint venture between USG and Zawawi Minerals to build and operate a new wallboard plant in the Salalah Free Zone in Oman. The proposed plant site is close to the quarry and ports, allowing easy access to India and the rest of the Middle East. It is expected that the wallboard plant will be running by the end of 2013. USG expects the investment of approximately US$60m to be incurred over two years, with the majority in 2012.

"This is an important step forward in our strategic initiative to diversify the sources of USG's earnings by investing in higher-growth international markets," said James S Metcalf, Chairman, President and CEO of USG. "The market in India and the Middle East represents an attractive growth opportunity. We are thrilled to partner with a prominent and highly regarded organisation such as the Zawawi Group, whose business acumen and market knowledge will contribute to the success of the venture."

"Zawawi Minerals is committed to investing and participating in the industrial promotion of the nation, supporting the development march witnessed under the wise leadership of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos," said Alawi bin Qais al Zawawi, Chairman of Zawawi Minerals. "Part of our corporate agenda is our commitment and responsibility to adopt and deliver high international standards of operations for a safe and healthy environment for the local communities. This also includes bringing substantial, long-term benefits and job opportunities to the people of Dhofar Governorate. In addition, our mining and manufacturing projects in Salalah will enhance valuable foreign exchange earnings for the country as these operations are mostly export oriented," he added.

Ramachandran, CEO of Zawawi Minerals, said, "The company has been investing significantly to conduct detailed technical exploration of minerals and commercial feasibility study. The gypsum board and plaster of Paris manufacturing facility will be set up in the Salalah Free Zone adopting American environmentally-friendly manufacturing technology complying with all applicable national and international standards related to safety and environmental quality measures."

Ramachandran added that the joint projects would provide jobs for more than 320 people directly and indirectly and that they would be trained to a high level. He said that the combination of US-standard wallboard with 'Made-in-Oman' branding would enhance the Omani industrial brand image in the international marketplace.