Gypsum industry news

Uzbekistan: Germany's Knauf International GmbH has opened its gypsum wallboard plant in Kagan, Uzbekistan. The project, which is run by Knauf Gips Bukhara, was built at a cost of around USD51.1m. Construction started in 2008 and was completed in June 2011. To date, the company has been operating the 20MM2/yr plant in test mode. The project is the second by Knauf in Uzbekistan.

India: Preparations are reported to be 'in full swing' towards the commissioning of a new fibre-glass-reinforced gypsum wallboard and building materials plant at Kochi by Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore and Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers, Mumbai.

Engineers from Rapid Building Systems, Australia, the technology provider for the project, have been in Kochi over the past month putting the finishing touches to the plant before commercial production begins later in 2011. A test run to produce the large building boards has been successful and further tests are being carried out at present.

India: FACT-RCF Building Products Ltd (FRBL), a joint venture between Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT) and the Mumbai-based Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers (RCF), is expected to commission its gypsum-based reinforced wall panel and building components plant by September 2011.

The FRBL plant in Ambalamedu, Kerala is worth USD22.43m and is a 50:50 joint venture between the two public sector fertiliser companies. The unit is being built on 12 acres of land at FACT's Ambalamedu site.

According to a statement issued by the FRBL on 29 June 2011, the project is now 97% complete, with all machinery having been erected. The wet gypsum handling section has now been commissioned.

The calciner has been successfully lit up and some plaster was first made during the last week of May 2011. This unit is now fully operational. The start of the commissioning process for the mixing plant is expected towards the end of July 2011.

A team of engineers from Rapid Building Systems, the Australian technology and machinery provider for the project, is expected to arrive in Kochi and take up the commissioning of the wall panel manufacturing unit in September 2011.

The fibreglass reinforced gypsum panels are expected to revolutionise building culture in Kerala. The project originated with the idea of utilising the nearly 6Mt of gypsum stockpiled at the Ambalamedu and Udyogamandal sites owned by FACT.

The fibreglass reinforced panels can replace brick walls and give substantial savings in time and money invested in conventional buildings. Savings in cement, bricks and scarcer resources such as river sand are highlights of the new building component. Construction time can be reduced to about one-fifth of the normal time taken for erecting a conventional building.

The new FRBL unit has a capacity to produce around 39,000 panels, each of 36m2, per year. Interior wall putty and interior wall plaster will be other products from the new joint venture. The plant will require over 0.1Mt/yr of gypsum.

Uzbekistan: Germany's Knauf International GmbH (Knauf) has completed the construction of a 20MM²/yr wallboard production plant in Uzbekistan. The project, worth US$48m, was funded through a direct investment from Knauf. The contractor for the construction project was German Samo Engineering.

KnaufGipsBuhara, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Knauf International GmbH, will manage the plant. Following the full commissioning of the new production facilities, the wallboard production capacity in Uzbekistan will be doubled to 40MM²/yr, with demand closer to 60MM²/yr.