Gypsum industry news

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.

UK: British Gypsum has appointed Stacey Temprell as Marketing Director and Paul Lake as Sales Director. Both directors will work together to develop and roll out plans for the company’s range of products and services.

Temprell was previously responsible for supporting the development of Saint-Gobain’s Habitat strategy in the UK and Ireland, leading its marketing function. She first joined the Saint-Gobain Group with British Gypsum, where she had responsibility for the Gyproc range of plasterboards and plasterboard accessories and managing the product range transition to meet new building regulations, before moving into the role of Residential Market Manager.

Lake previously led the Ecophon organisation in the UK and Ireland. He brings to the role experience in both sales and general management at Ecophon and latterly as Business Units Director responsible for Saint-Gobain Ceilings for the UK, Ireland, South Africa and Benelux countries.

Australia/UK: Richard Cousins the former chief executive of UK-based wallboard producer BPB has died in a plane accident in Australia. He worked for six years as the chief executive officer for BPB following a number of previous roles at the company. Following its takeover by Saint-Gobain he subsequently joined the board of Compass group in the food services sector and became its group chief executive in 2006.

Finland: Construction materials manufacturer Saint-Gobain has transferred some of the manufacturing of Gyproc Habito wallboard from the UK to Kirkkonummi in Finland. Deliveries from Kirkkonummi started at the beginning of 2017. Habito products are exported from Kirkkonummi to the Baltic and the Nordic countries.

The company has invested Euro1m in Gyproc Habito production at its Kirkkonummi site in 2017. Investments have been made in the laboratory, product development, personnel training and the production line. Virpi Riekkinen, Business Director at Saint-Gobain Finland, expects further investments to be made in 2018. Gyproc Habito accounts for roughly 10% of the production of the Kirkkonummi factory. The company expects to recruit around five new employees for the Kirkkonummi site in 2018.

US: Saint-Gobain has appointed Mark Rayfield as the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of its subsidiary CertainTeed. He will also serve as the Region CEO of Saint-Gobain Construction Products for North America.

Rayfield has worked as the CEO of Saint-Gobain Building Distribution United Kingdom and Ireland since 2013. He started his career with Saint-Gobain in 1999 in a sales role within Abrasives North America, before assuming the role of Vice President of Saint-Gobain Abrasives North America from 2007 to 2011. Prior to moving to the UK, Rayfield was President of the CertainTeed Siding business from 2011 - 2013.

He succeeds Benoit Bazin, who has served as president and CEO of CertainTeed since January 2017. Bazin will continue to serve as president and CEO, Saint-Gobain’s Construction Products Sector and Senior Vice President, Saint-Gobain Corporation.

UK: Mid UK Recycling plans to increase the amount of plasterboard it processes by 50% to 75,000t in 2018. The waste management company recycles gypsum wallboard at its Ancaster plant in Lincolnshire. It processes plasterboard from waste transfer stations and local governments across the UK. Subsequently, it produces several grades of gypsum products for different industries, including gypsum wallboard, cement production, cat litter and industrial absorbents.

UK: British Gypsum has completed a Euro7.4m upgrade of its Barrow-Upon-Soar gypsum mine. The investment is expected to secure supplies of gypsum to produce gypsum wallboard for 20 years at the company's production sites at East Leake in Nottinghamshire and Fauld in Staffordshire, and at British Gypsum's sister business Saint-Gobain Formula based at Newark, according to the Loughborough Echo. The upgrade will allow the mine to be expanded using conveyors, fans and other mining equipment.

UK: Smithers Apex predicts that the global synthetic gypsum market is due to reach 220Mt/yr by 2027 from a 151M/yr in 2017. A new report by the market research company forecasts modest growth in the US, a decline in Europe and growth in China over the next 10 years. At present the current supply of synthetic gypsum is mostly based in theses countries and they accounted for 96% of worldwide supply in 2014.

"The synthetic gypsum industry is at a very interesting and dynamic point in time. The outlook for the next 10 years is positive, but not without threats. Opportunities abound for new applications, coupled with an increased supply. Innovation is coming in the form of research into the raw material," said Robert C Grupe, Jr, the author of the 'Future of Synthetic Gypsum: Market Forecasts to 2027' report.

An example of a major driver of the synthetic gypsum market is government regulations controlling coal-fired power plants. Sustainability requirements for the design and construction of new buildings can also encourage demand for products made with synthetic gypsum.

UK: Nottingham County Council has granted permissions to the Marblaegis Mine near British Gypsum's East Leake wallboard plant to operate for a further 17 years. The mine was originally licensed to operate until the end of 2025 but can now operate until 2042.

"The phasing out of coal-fired power stations means we have reducing access to synthetic gypsum or desulphogypsum, also called DSG, an important by-product we have been recycling into plasterboard since the early 1990s. We need to counteract this reduction in DSG output by increasing supply from mined and quarried natural gypsum as well as continuing to support plasterboard recycling programmes," said Jeremy Elvins, minerals and estates manager at British Gypsum to Inside Media.

The mine has an installed production capacity of 600,000t/yr but only 250,000t/yr is extracted at present. The mine supports 26 full-time staff at present although the nearby wallboard plant employs 264 staff and 125 contractors.

UK: British Gypsum has launched its Gyproc Habito plasterboard product to the retail sector. The plasterboard features a high-strength core that provides strength, durability and fixability. The product is intended to help create durable and robust commercial spaces, while improving design flexibility. Due to its strength it is being targeted at high traffic retail spaces where interiors are frequently redesigned.

"Retail is a sector that's constantly evolving to meet customer needs and requirements, so flexibility is crucial on any project. There is a lot of time pressure during construction to get a store open as quickly as possible. Due to a reduced need for patressing, Gyproc Habito speeds up the installation process in addition to providing the freedom to fix heavy items anywhere," said Paul Campbell, Head of Product Marketing at British Gypsum.