Gypsum industry news

China: BNBM’s operating income fell by 6% year-on-year to US$2.90bn in 2022 from US$3.07bn in 2021. Its net profit dropped by 11% to US$457m from US$511m. Parent company China New Building Material (CNBM) reported that its sales volumes of gypsum wallboard declined by 12% to 2.09Bnm² from 2.38Bnm². It noted that, despite prices for raw materials and energy increasing in 2022, the poor local real estate market had led to a decline in demand for wallboard. It added that performance in Tanzania had grown in the reporting year and that new projects in Uzbekistan and Thailand remained on track. The group said that its 50 gypsum wallboard production lines had achieved “nearly zero emissions” in 2022.

Canada: CertainTeed Canada’s Delta wallboard plant in Vancouver has recycled over 1Mt of gypsum. The unit achieved this breakthrough in collaboration with New West Gypsum Recycling (NWGR). CertainTeed Canada chief executive officer Julie Bonamy Racine, Delta Plant Manager Richard Sebastianelli and NWGR Vice President Richard McCamley all attended a celebration event held at the plant.

Bonamy said, “Surpassing 1Mt of recycled gypsum returned to production is an important milestone, which demonstrates Saint-Gobain and CertainTeed Canada’s commitment to sustainability and minimising our environmental footprint.” She added “Thank you to the provincial government of British Columbia and NWGR for your important partnerships and congratulations to our entire Vancouver team for your hard work to make this accomplishment a reality.”

China: France-based Saint-Gobain will commence a capacity expansion of its Yangzhou, Jiangsu, gypsum wallboard plant in mid-late 2023. China Daily News has reported that producer expects to commission the expanded plant in 2024.

Asia-Pacific regional CEO Ludovic Weber said that the project is a response to ‘soaring’ demand in Eastern China. Saint-Gobain currently operates four gypsum wallboard lines across the country.

Montenegro: UK-based private equity firm Chayton Capital has agreed to fund the feasibility study for the establishment of a joint public/private building materials production complex at the site of the Plejevlja energy hub. The complex will include a gypsum wallboard plant. Emerging Market Watch News has reported that the firm will also be involved in the modernisation of a coal-fired power plant at the site. The total budget for the project is Euro700m.

Spain: Italy-based Fassa Bortolo has announced plans for its upcoming Tarancón gypsum wallboard plant in Cuenca, Castile-La Mancha. The producer says that it plans to invest Euro90m in the project. Local press has reported that the company plans to hire 200 new employees to work at the plant.

US: USG has proposed to the Forest Service that it be allowed to conduct exploratory core drilling on National Forest System (NFS) lands south of its Shoals gypsum wallboard plant in Indiana. The drilling is intended to verify probable mineral resources within a 520ha area of NFS land ahead of future mining activities that would occur from the plant, according to the Washington Times-Herald newspaper. The USG drilling proposal is for a duration of two years beginning in the spring of 2023.

USG owns the subsurface mineral rights for mining gypsum deposits while the Forest Service owns the surface rights to a portion of land located within the Hoosier National Forest. The Forest Service previously gave permission for USG to conduct drilling on most of the land in 1995 but it is currently evaluating the impact it would entail, considering mitigation options and seeking public comment.

Ukraine: A US White House official has accused the Wagner Group of conducting military operations near Bakhmut with the objective of seizing raw gypsum and salt deposits in the area. The official said that there were indications that monetary motives were driving the mercenary group and Russia’s "obsession" with the city, according to Reuters. The US government has previously accused Russian mercenaries of exploiting natural resources in the Central African Republic, Mali and Sudan to help fund Moscow's war in Ukraine. The Russian government has rejected the allegations.

Russia claims that its army took control of Soledar, a town near Bakhmut, on 13 January 2023. However, western European news sources have been unable to independently verify this. Etex’s local subsidiary Siniat Ukraine operated a gypsum wallboard plant on the outskirts of Bakhmut before Russia invaded the country in February 2022. The current status of the plant is unknown.

US: A worker died in a hopper accident at PABCO Building Products’ Newark gypsum wallboard plant in California in late December 2022. The Alameda County Fire Department said that incident occurred when the worker became trapped in the hopper following an inspection of a blockage, according to CBS News. Workers at the plant and firefighters attempted to rescue him but were unsuccessful.

Saudi Arabia: National Gypsum says it has renewed the environmental permit for its Riyadh wallboard plant for a period of three years. The renewal follows a study by the National Center for Environmental Compliance. The wallboard producer has also confirmed that its environmental permits have been renewed at its plants and quarries in Dammam and Yanbu.

Two news stories to note over the last two months indicate growth in the gypsum wallboard market in Romania. Firstly, Knauf announced plans in mid-October 2022 to build a new 30Mm²/yr gypsum wallboard plant at Huedin in Cluj County. Then, Germany-based Grenzebach’s local subsidiary revealed that it had broken ground on the construction of an upgrade to its Iasi production centre.

Knauf’s announcement follows work by the existing wallboard producers with plants in the country to increase their own local capacity. Saint-Gobain started building a new production line at its Turda plant in mid-2021 at a cost of Euro45m. It hopes to have the project completed by April 2023. Etex started work in mid-2022 on a Euro6m sludge drying unit at a coal-fired power plant in Oltenia that will supply synthetic gypsum for use at its Turceni plant. It is also working on logistics upgrades to Turceni and a separate plaster plant at Aghiresu.

Graph 1: Growth rate of the construction market in relation to market volume in selected emerging countries, 2020 – 2030. Source: Saint-Gobain financial report using data from IHS.

An indication of Saint-Gobain’s interest in the Romanian market can be seen in its universal registration document for 2021 where it outlined its strategy. It presented a graph of forecast growth rates in construction markets in selected developing markets between 2020 and 2030. The countries that are underlined in Graph 1 (above) are those where Saint-Gobain made large acquisitions or investments in 2021. Romania is interesting on this graph because it is the European country with the largest predicted growth rate. It also has a relatively low market volume suggesting potential for market growth, although note that the graph only shows selected countries.

Another reason why Knauf might be interested in Romania is that it is the largest country in the European Union in which the company does not have a wallboard plant. Knauf’s own take from its press release about why it decided to build a plant in Romania was that local per capita consumption of gypsum wallboard was around 3m²/yr compared to at least 6m²/yr in more mature markets elsewhere in Europe.

Etex’s subsidiary Siniat Romania reported a 20% year-on-year rise in turnover to Euro60m in 2021. This compares to a 24% rise in turnover to Euro307m by Saint-Gobain Romania. Andrei Popa, Etex’s Country Sales Manager Romania & SEE, told Agenda Constructiilor that Siniat Romania’s turnover grew by 25% year-on-year in the first eight months of 2022. However, it is unclear what difference Etex Group’s acquisition of insulation producer URSA in June 2022 made to the figures in Romania. Popa also revealed that the rise in turnover so far in 2022 was mainly down to price rises. This in turn had been promoted by mounting energy costs, particularly gas. The company described itself as a ‘big consumer of gas’ and reported that the price had risen seven times over the past year. One more point of interest to mention is that Popa described Etex as one of the largest exporters in the country, with 40% of local production sent over national borders. This also aligns with what Knauf said about its new plant. It intends to deliver half of the production from its proposed plant at Huedin to Hungary, Serbia and the Republic of Moldova. The other half will serve the domestic market in the north of Romania with imports from Bulgaria expected to continue to supply the south of the country.

The data above suggests why Saint-Gobain, Etex and Knauf have all invested in wallboard production units in Romania over the last two years. The local market has growth potential and the companies are also focused on exports to neighbouring countries. All this investment may also have contributed to Grenzebach’s decision to enlarge its production site at Iasi too. The ‘fly in the ointment’ here in the short term is the disruption to energy markets caused by the war in Ukraine. Siniat Romania mentioned its concern over gas prices above. Saint-Gobain also made similar comments on a general basis for Europe in its nine month financial results in late October 2022. It said that it was preparing continuity plans for its gas-consuming plants in Europe but added that its gypsum wallboard production lines were ‘extremely flexible.’ However, Romania is better prepared for problems with gas supplies compared to elsewhere in Europe because it produces around 90% of its requirements locally. Despite energy concerns at the moment, the long term potential for the wallboard market in Romania remains promising.