Gypsum industry news

US: Georgia-Pacific has officially opened its new gypsum wallboard plant at Sweetwater in Texas. The project had a budget of US$325m and it is the first new wallboard plant that Georgia-Pacific has built since 2004.

David Neal, president of Georgia-Pacific Gypsum said “The two operations combined will supply customers and distribution partners with more than 92Mm² of gypsum products each year and create more than 100 new jobs. This investment strengthens Georgia-Pacific's capacity to meet growing customer needs in Texas' residential, commercial, and industrial construction markets.”

The new plant is adjacent to Georgia-Pacific’s first gypsum wallboard facility in Sweetwater, purchased by the company in 1996. The existing facility has been operating in Nolan County since the 1950s. Over the last year, Georgia-Pacific has invested approximately US$16m in technical and safety upgrades at the plant, including an Energy Optimization System (EOS), auto-guided vehicles (AGVs), an automated robotic riser system, auto-splicing equipment, and upgraded packaging equipment. It has also upgraded the employee facilities.

UK: Logistics company AV Dawson has officially opened a Euro1.1m new canopy at its Teesside terminal in Middlesbrough to support its contract with British Gypsum. The 100m canopy provides dry-loading capabilities for imported raw materials for plaster and wallboard products to be stored and then loaded onto trains for delivery to British Gypsum’s operations in the East Midlands. Delegates from British Gypsum, the North East England Chamber of Commerce, Department for International Trade and rail freight operator, GB Railfreight attended the opening ceremony. AV Dawson’s contract with British Gypsum was signed in 2018.

Azerbaijan: The president of Azerbaijan has attended the opening of the 0.4Mt/yr Ağdağ gypsum plaster plant built by Matanat-A in Baku's Garadagh District on 30 January 2016. The plant has been built using US$0.9m loan from the national business promotion fund. It employs more than 800 workers.

Suppliers supporting the project include Boemer, Saake, Haver and Boecker, Atlas Copco, ABB, Caterpillar, STP and Erisim. Half of the products made at the plant will be exported to Russia, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Iran.