Gypsum industry news

Iran: Ammar Bashare, the director of the Middle East trade development section of Saint-Gobain, has expressed his company's desire to invest in the gypsum plaster industry in Semnan province. He made the comments in a meeting with Ali Asghar Joma'ei, the head of the province's Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mine and Agriculture, as reported by the Islamic Republic News Agency.

Bashare said that Saint-Gobain is ready to invest in the local plaster industry and he hoped that his company could have more cooperation with local Iranian companies when the economic sanctions are lifted.

Joma'ei said that around 40 plaster producer companies are active in Semnan province and that foreign investors should bring modern technology into Iran. He also noted the readiness of a number of investors from Turkey and Germany in the industry. He added that the province is ready for 100% foreign investment or joint venture partnerships.

Semnan produces 40,000t/day of plaster. It exports plaster to Iraq, Turkmenistan and India.

UK: British Gypsum has partnered with contractor Willmott Dixon to enhance its existing site quality course with a bespoke training programme. As part of a new approach to industry training, British Gypsum built a custom made, full-scale construction site known as the 'Recapping Zone', in which Willmott Dixon employees were tasked with locating over 40 staged faults that could occur in real life scenarios on projects.

British Gypsum took a similar approach to that of a real-life build when constructing the zone, consulting with architects, designers and course facilitators. At present, 436 Willmott Dixon employees have completed the course, and a refresher programme will be run to recap and update the training.

"We worked in close collaboration with Willmott Dixon to deliver the course and also train staff to deliver the course themselves. We combined traditional training methods with hands-on activities to help Willmott Dixon employees take a more practical approach to training in a realistic scenario," said David Hall, National Technical Academy Manager for British Gypsum. "It is our aim to provide the next generation of installers in the interiors sector with information about the latest systems and techniques."

UK: British Gypsum has revealed the winners of its National Trophy Awards, which aim to celebrate craftsmanship and skills in using traditional plaster and modern plasterboard systems.

Now in its 10th year, the awards recognise the contribution that contractors make to the UK construction industry on a daily basis, with accolades presented to the following developments across six categories:

• Norwich Enterprise Centre (Innovation and Sustainability)
• Five Pancras Square, London (Plasterboard)
• Resort World, Birmingham (Commercial)
• Michael Sobell Sports Centre and School, Aberdare (Education, Hospitality & Healthcare)
• Great Minster House, London (Residential)
• Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester (Plaster)

"The winning projects were selected due to their commitment to addressing common issues in the construction sector such as reducing carbon, overcoming poor acoustic performance and extending maintenance cycles," commented Alastair Bell, Managing Director of British Gypsum.

The winners will to join more than 33 different countries as UK representatives in the Saint-Gobain Gypsum International Trophy Awards in Prague later in 2016.

France: Saint-Gobain's net income has risen by 36% year-on-year to Euro1.3bn in 2015 from Euro953m in 2014. Its sales revenue rose by 3.3% to 39.6bn from 3.4bn. However, its overall sales volumes remained static with only 0.1% growth. Growth in the company's Flat Glass and Interior Solutions divisions, including wallboard and insulation, held up sales despite sharp declines in sales in France.

"Saint-Gobain delivered improved earnings in 2015 in a sharply contrasted economic climate. The improvement was dampened by continued weak trading in France, hurt in particular by the sharp contraction in our Pipe division in the second half of the year, despite the first signs of an upturn in construction indicators. The group completed a key stage in the reorganisation of its business portfolio, with the sale of Verallia on very favourable terms, and continues to pursue its plan to acquire a controlling interest in Sika after obtaining all antitrust approvals prior to closing the deal," said Pierre-André de Chalendar, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Saint-Gobain.

The group's Interior Solutions division reported a 7.1% rise in sales revenue to Euro6.49bn from Euro6.06bn. Reduced volumes and prices in the French market slowed growth in Western Europe, although this impact eased in the fourth quarter of 2015. Trading in North America was dented by a slight dip in prices in the second half and by the decline in the Canadian market. Asia and emerging countries continued to deliver growth.

UK: As part of the 350th Anniversary Celebrations of French building materials group Saint-Gobain, time capsules filled by more than 30 Saint-Gobain brands have been buried at the company's UK Headquarters in Binley, West Midlands followed by the unveiling of a specially-commissioned landmark sculpture designed by architectural students at the University of Nottingham.

The time capsules have been collected from brands across the country, including British Gypsum, Jewson and Celotex, and have been filled with products and innovations from each brand, as well as mementos from current employees.

Richard Halderthay, director of communications at Saint-Gobain UK and Ireland, said, "We hope that when our future colleagues, the 18th generation of Saint-Gobain employees, unearth these capsules in 100 years, they will see how our employees were innovators of the time. This is a great opportunity to celebrate our history as well as share our vision for the future."

India: Saint Gobain Gyproc will set up a new US$60m manufacturing plant in India. "We have identified western India as suitable location for the new plant," said V Subramanian, Managing Director of Gypsum Business for Saint Gobain India. A final decision on the location will be taken by the end of 2015.

Gyproc India already has three manufacturing plants in the country in Jind (near Delhi), Wada (near Mumbai) and Bengaluru. The combined production capacity of these plants is about 46Mm2/yr. "Our capacity utilisation ratio is very high. The proposed new plant will add another 30Mm²/yr of capacity,'' added Subramanian.

Brazil: Saint-Gobain will revise its year-on-year turnover growth projection of 7% in Brazil for 2015 as it is expecting volume sales to be lower than 2014, according to Thierry Fournier, the firm's president for Brazil, Argentina and Chile. Turnover is expected to still grow but at a slower rate than 7%, according to Valor Economico.

The building materials producer had to lift prices in the first half of 2015 to compensate for rising energy and US dollar-linked raw material costs. Despite this the group still continues to gain market presence in some segments like drywall.

Saint-Gobain holds a diversified presence in Brazil with divisions manufacturing fibre cement, mortars, wallboard, insulation and glass.

US: Saint-Gobain has signed an agreement to purchase Structus Building Technologies, Inc (SBTI) of Bend, Oregon. The company owns one production plant and with 60 employees.

Founded in 1996, Structus is a leading manufacturer of high-performance wallboard corner solutions with a very strong focus on innovation, improving the way the building industry designs and constructs wall systems. Saint-Gobain has distributed Structus products for many years in North America and Europe, making this project a 'natural fit.'

Indonesia: Saint-Gobain is strengthening its presence in Indonesia by increasing its interest from 51% to 100% in PT Cipta Mortar Utama, which specialises in plastering mortars, masonry mortars, tile fixing and façade renders, according to Dow Jones. The company is one of Indonesia's leading manufacturer of industrial mortars with estimated sales of over US$55m in 2015. This acquisition bolsters Saint-Gobain's position in Indonesia, where it is also present in abrasives, plastics and wallboard.

Tanzania: Saint-Gobain has finalised a deal to form a joint venture in which it owns 50% of the capital of Lodhia Gypsum Industries based in Arusha, Northern Tanzania, according to the National Iraqi News Agency. Lodhia Gypsum Industries makes and sells wallboard in Tanzania, Kenya and neighbouring countries.