Gypsum industry news

Indonesia: PT Siam-Indo Gypsum, a joint venture of Wings Group and Thailand’s Siam Cement Group, has ordered a Gebr. Pfeiffer MPS 180 GC vertical mill for grinding, drying, classifying and calcining gypsum at its 20Mm2/yr Bekasi plant in Java. With a total drive power of 210kW, it will mill 40t/h of gypsum to a fineness of 100 µm.

Thailand: SCG-Dow Chemical does not plan to shut its 200,000t/yr styrene monomer (SM) and 300,000t/yr polystyrene (PS) plants in 2016 for maintenance, according to an unnamed company source. The facilities in Map Ta Phut were shut in the first half of 2015 for a turnaround. SCG-Dow Group is a joint venture between Thailand's Siam Cement Group (SCG) and US' Dow Chemical.

Vietnam: Vina Kraft Paper Co Ltd (VKPC), a joint venture between Thailand's Siam Kraft Industry Co Ltd (part of Siam Cement Group – SCG) and Japan's Rengo Co Ltd, will spend an additional US$126m expanding its packaging paper plant in Binh Duong. VKPC will invest the money to double the existing paper capacity to 847,000t/yr. The plant was commissioned with an initial investment of US$171m in 2010 and is now the biggest packaging paper plant in Vietnam. The new production line is set for operation in the second quarter of 2017.

Thailand: Siam Gypsum Industry (SGI), a subsidiary of Siam Cement Group, expects sales of gypsum products to rise by 10% in its 2015 fiscal year, which started on 1 July 2014, to nearly US$182m due to the rebounding property market. SGI's managing director Soraphong Channarukul said that the property market was set to recover rapidly in the second half of 2014 after delays in the development of many projects.

SGI is launching its new gypsum wall product to spur sales growth in the second half of 2014. The country's overall gypsum demand should expand by 7% in the next 12 months, but SGI expects its sales will surge slightly beyond that thanks to its innovative gypsum product, Zolidwall.

Soraphong said that Zolidwall would save developers on costs, as it is stronger and lighter, requiring less time to install and decorate. Zolidwall costs 5 - 10% more than traditional wall materials such as cement, brisk and standard gypsum wallboard, but the cost will be offset by faster installation and decoration, plus it does not require the same level of skill as is required to build a traditional wall.

Yuthasak Naruchaipramote, SGI's innovation director, said that it took a year to develop a product that would satisfy the needs of customers seeking materials that save time but meet international standards. The development of Zolidwall followed close consultation from gypsum wallboard users and Pruksa Real Estate plc, Thailand's largest housing developer. Pruksa's housing projects and high-rise buildings will be among the first groups to use Zolidwall, according to Naruchaipramote.

SGI expects sales of 300,000Mm² of Zolidwall in the first year, with 30% growth within three to five years. It also plans to launch Zolidwall in Myanmar and Cambodia soon to tap their booming property markets. Zolidwall was developed at SGI's new US$627,550 product and system testing centre at the gypsum plant in Saraburi Province. The centre, which opened earlier in 2014, helps to ensure new products meet international standards. In the past only tailor-made products were launched.