Gypsum industry news

Romania: Saint-Gobain Romania has launched the Saint-Gobain National Trophy contest. The contest recognises exceptional projects due for completion by the end of 2024 which incorporate materials supplied by Saint-Gobain Romania. Local press has reported that judges will evaluate projects’ excellence in execution, sustainability and effective utilisation of their incorporated Saint-Gobain products. The company will receive submissions until 31 October 2024.

India: Saint-Gobain India plans to grow its gypsum business as part of a new investment phase, targeting revenues of US$4.3bn across its businesses by 2032. The Hindu newspaper has reported that this represents growth by a factor of three from 2023 levels. The investment phase will include total capex of US$719 – 959m from 2021 to 2025, with ‘significant’ allocations to gypsum activities. The company had invested US$1.58bn up to the end of 2023, including acquisitions in the gypsum wallboard segment.

Asia-Pacific and India regional CEO B Santhanam said "We have made huge investments in India, and quite a lot of them were in new plants."

Spain: Saint-Gobain Placo has launched Longips Premium plaster for interior coatings. The product offers an ‘enhanced formula’ with more consistent mixing, easier smoothing and optimised setting. It is available in 17kg bags with a new ‘modern, dynamic design.’

Saint-Gobain Placo said "The new Longips Premium solution reflects Placo's commitment to building better for people and the planet, always guided by Saint-Gobain Group's common purpose of making the world a better home."

Germany: A working group of gypsum producers in the Harz region has supported the Mission: Urban Forest Rescue 2024 reforestation initiative in Osterode, Lower Saxony. The group, including CASEA, Saint-Gobain, Rump & Salzmann and VG Orth, donated €12,500 to the initiative.

The Mayor of Osterode, Jens Augat, said "We are pleased about the companies' commitment to conservation, which goes far beyond the required level.”

Australia: Shareholders in CSR have voted in favour of the company’s proposed acquisition by France-based Saint-Gobain for US$2.87bn.

CSR chair John Gillam said “The attractive value creation for shareholders arising from the planned acquisition by Saint-Gobain is a clear validation of the strategy and its successful execution by the CSR team under Julie Coates’ leadership. Organisations like Saint-Gobain don’t just casually start trading in a new country if they haven’t got a productive capacity to back up what they’re selling, so they’re looking to participate in this economy by acquiring at a very strong price.”

Canada: Saint-Gobain completed its acquisition of building materials producer Bailey Group on 3 June 2024. Bailey Group produces structural and wallboard framing, wallboard trim and other systems. Saint-Gobain says that Bailey Group will enrich its full-range offer of exterior and interior solutions in Canada.

Romania: Saint-Gobain Romania has signed a 5-year renewable power purchase agreement (PPA) with OMV PetRom. Under the PPA, OMV PetRom will provide power from wind and solar power plants to Saint-Gobain Romania, beginning in January 2026. Total energy supplied under the contract will be 800GWh. This will cover 100% of the producer’s electricity consumption.

France: Saint-Gobain recorded €11.4bn in sales in the first quarter of 2024, down by 8% year-on-year compared to first-quarter 2023 levels. Group sales volumes fell by 4.7%, partly due to a 1.5% negative working day effect. Meanwhile, a negative group structure effect reflects on-going optimisation. New acquisitions during the first quarter of 2024 included Australia-based building materials producer and land banking entity CSR.

Saint-Gobain’s sales dropped by 10% in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, but grew by 6% in the Americas, where the group noted a ‘dynamic’ renovations market. Its sales also grew, by 4.5%, with ‘strong momentum’ in India. In Saint-Gobain’s High Performance Solutions business, sales declined by 5.4% year-on-year. The business’ sales to construction customers fell by 6.7% amid a decline in new project starts in Europe.

Saint-Gobain forecast resilience in the remainder of 2024, through its focused strategy and proactive commercial and industrial initiatives. It expects new construction to end its decline in Europe and all segments to ‘hold firm’ or recover in the Americas.

UK: The Pallet Loop has concluded a strategic agreement to provide its pallets collection service for British Gypsum’s UK distribution operations. From May 2024, British Gypsum will deliver bagged plaster using The Pallet Loop’s green pallets. It will subsequently begin to transition its gypsum wallboard distribution to The Pallet Loop pallets from July 2024, resulting in 70% coverage of its entire distribution of products. The subsidiary of Saint-Gobain plans to eventually raise this to 100%.

British Gypsum managing director Dean O’Sullivan said “We are delighted to announce our partnership with The Pallet Loop as we aim to radically cut unnecessary waste. Pallets left behind after products have been removed have for a long time created a challenge, with many being unsustainably disposed of at a heavy environmental cost. By joining forces with The Pallet Loop, we aim to significantly reduce this practice.”

The Pallet Loop managing director Paul Lewis said “At Loop, our mission is to transform the way building materials move and we are incredibly excited that British Gypsum, as a market leader, is partnering with us to promote a culture of pallet reuse. Using our service, merchants, distributors, principal contractors and housebuilding companies will be able to book pallet collections, which can take place from as little as 72 hours later. There will also be a payback of up to €4.69 available for every green coloured pallet they put back in the loop.”

Canada: France-based Saint-Gobain has entered into an agreement to acquire Bailey Metal Products for US$649m. The group says that the structural framework producer will help to strengthen its lightweight construction offering. It said that Bailey Metal Products is a ‘long-standing partner’ that has previously supplied ceiling grids, frames and fasteners for its own lightweight construction products.