Gypsum industry news

UK: British Gypsum has signed a five-year contract with PD Ports to process its natural gypsum imports. The deal will bring raw materials from Europe into the country via Teesport every two weeks where it will be stored in a new bulk storage unit. The gypsum will then be dispatched by rail to British Gypsum’s plants at Kirkby Thore in Cumbria and Sherburn-In-Elmet in Yorkshire. No value for the deal has been disclosed.

France: Saint-Gobain has appointed Benoit Bazin as its chief operating officer in an organisational and portfolio review process. The ‘Transform & Grow’ program intends to create a new organisational structure with five reporting units to improve growth and allow for a more ‘agile’ group structure.

"Saint-Gobain is evolving in a fast changing market environment, which can be a source of substantial growth opportunities, provided we are sufficiently close to our markets and sufficiently agile. We are launching an ambitious transformation plan, 'Transform and Grow' based on two pillars, an in-depth transformation of the Group's organisational structure and an accelerated portfolio rotation program,” said chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) Pierre-André de Chalendar.

The new structure will consist of five reporting units, with four regional businesses and a global High Performance Solutions unit. The new regional groups will be Northern Europe, Southern Europe, Americas and Asia-Pacific. The High Performance Solutions unit will include High-Performance Materials (HPM) and the Sekurit (automotive glass) business.

The program also plans to accelerate the group’s portfolio rotation. It is preparing to divest businesses worth around Euro1bn by the end of 2019. More than 10 companies of various sizes across all sectors are being actively prepared for divestment and three significant processes have already been launched.

Belgium: Gyproc Belgium has installed a new mill to grind natural gypsum at its Kallo wallboard plant. The unit will continue to use flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) gypsum sourced from coal-fired power stations but the company is preparing for future changes in supply, according to the HLN newspaper.

France: Saint-Gobain’s Interior Solutions division’s net sales grew by 4.2% year-on-year to Euro5.33bn in the first nine months of 2018 from Euro5.11bn in the same period in 2017. The group said that division performance in the third quarter of 2018 was driven by pricing. Western Europe progressed slightly despite lower volumes in the UK. In North America, the acceleration in price increases in the quarter reduced sales volumes. Asia and emerging countries reported good growth. Overall, the group’s sales rose by 1.8% to Euro31.1bn from Euro30.6bn.

“Saint-Gobain continues along its growth trajectory despite a tough comparison basis in the third quarter of 2017. Our focus on increasing prices – critical in an inflationary environment – continues to pay off. The industrial issues that had weighed on our profitability in the first half of the year are largely behind us,” said Pierre-André de Chalendar, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Saint-Gobain.

US: Saint-Gobain North America has appointed Robert Panaro as its chief financial officer (CFO) and Senior Vice President of Finance. He previously worked as Vice President and CFO of CertainTeed, Saint-Gobain’s largest subsidiary in North America, and brings more than 25 years of experience to his new role. In his current role, Panaro will be responsible for overseeing mergers and acquisitions, capital investments and financial services in North America. He assumed the position earlier this year, succeeding Philippe Nouailhac as Senior Vice President of Finance and CFO for Saint-Gobain North America.

Panaro graduated from Boston College and holds a Bachelor of Science in management with a concentration in accounting and finance. He has served on the board of directors for the Grid Company, a joint venture between CertainTeed and Bailey Metals, Merit Abrasives and EcoTarium, a Natural Science Museum in Worcester, Massachusetts.

France: Saint-Gobain’s sales rose by 1.9% year-on-year to Euro20.8bn in the first half of 2019 from Euro20.4bn in the same period in 2017. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell very slightly to Euro2.07bn.

"The second quarter marks a return to supportive trends in all our main markets. After a disappointing first quarter, affected by harsh winter weather in Europe, which weighed on results, the second quarter was far more encouraging in terms of volumes and prices. The group succeeded in further raising sales prices amid continued raw material and energy cost inflation. Despite a combination of temporary one-off factors, our first-half results progressed once again,” said Pierre-André de Chalendar, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Saint-Gobain.

The group’s Interior Solutions division, including gypsum wallboard and insulation production, reported 7.1% organic growth, with rising sales prices in the period although raw material and energy costs inflated. The group noted that although its operating margin was held back by weather conditions in Europe in the first quarter and by the on-going shift from synthetic to natural gypsum, it benefited over the half-year period from a positive price-cost spread in terms of raw materials and energy.

Spain: Saint-Gobain plans to invest Euro120m over the next three years in its local subsidiary. In an interview with the Cinco Dias newspaper, Gianni Scotti, the chief executive officer (CEO) for Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece and North Africa warned against rising electricity costs in the country. The bulk of the investment will go towards upgrading the Fábrica de Quinto wallboard plant in Zaragoza.

UK: Logistics company AV Dawson has signed a deal with British Gypsum to import materials for gypsum wallboard and plaster production. Raw materials will be imported through AV Dawson’s Teesside marine terminal in Middlesbrough and then transported by train to British Gypsum’s operations in the East Midlands. The deal will see AV Dawson invest over Euro2m in new facilities and equipment, including a new canopy to stores import materials. The deal will also create 10 new jobs at AV Dawson.

Canada: The Canada Border Services Agency has started an investigation into gypsum board products being imported from the US. The probe has been initiated by a complaint by CertainTeed Gypsum Canada about the products being imported into British Colombia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, as well as the Yukon and Northwest Territories, according to the Canadian Press newspaper. It is the second complaint that CertainTeed Gypsum Canada has made in recent years, following a similar allegation in 2016.

In 2016 preliminary tariffs were imposed on US imports and then reduced after being blamed for raising the price of wallboard. The increases were linked to higher costs for domestic customers in Fort McMurray, Alberta following destruction caused by wildfires. The Canadian International Trade Tribunal later ruled that US imports had caused injury to local producers but that maintaining duties would not be in the country's trade interests.

Spain: Saint-Gobain Placo Iberia plans to spend Euro4.5m on upgrades to its Fábrica de Quinto wallboard plant in Zaragoza. The project started in 2017 with an investment of Euro1m, according to the Heraldo de Aragón newspaper. In July 2018 the company plans to spend Euro0.5m towards improving the quality of its wallboard and preparing a production line for new products. The majority of the investment will go towards improving logistics at the unit and expanding its storage capacity. A new wallboard recycling plant is also planned.