Gypsum industry news

UK: The new Quality Protocol (QP) for recycled gypsum will put an end to its use in agriculture as well as impacting negatively on the plasterboard recycling industry, according to the Gypsum Re-processors' Association UK and Ireland (GRAUKI).

GRAUKI also believes that there will be a short-term increase in the illegal disposal of waste plasterboard due to the removal of agricultural soil treatment as an approved end-use for recycled gypsum in the QP.

The QP for the production and use of recycled gypsum from waste plasterboard was published by the Environment Agency and the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) in consultation with UK governments and other regulatory stakeholders. It was published in March 2014 and is applicable throughout the UK. The QP designates just two permitted end uses for the of recycled gypsum, which are wallboard manufacture and cement production. As a result, recycled gypsum can now only be spread to land as a waste, for which gypsum re-processors will need to apply for a permit.

According to GRAUKI, "In practice the cost and legislative constraints are such that GRAUKI members feel that this will put an end to the beneficial use of recycled gypsum in agriculture." The Association added, "This change will have a negative impact on the overall capacity of the plasterboard recycling industry in the UK, which is already struggling to cope with the amount of gypsum waste generated."

GRAUKI previously raised concerns in 2013 that the EA could 'strangle' the plasterboard recycling industry unless it permitted more end uses for recycled gypsum.

UK: Saint-Gobain has opened a technical academy in the town of Flitwick, Bedfordshire, UK, to help bridge the skills gap in technical training.

The Saint-Gobain Technical Academy will run a range of training and specialist up-skilling courses. The multi-purpose centre has been developed to feature innovation and product demonstration areas, practical workshops, lecture rooms and meeting facilities.

The courses from Saint-Gobain's companies, including Weber, British Gypsum, Isover, PAM and Pasquill, are designed for 10 to 15 candidates and cover topics such as external wall insulation (EWI), internal wall insulation (IWI), renders and tiling to concrete repair, construction mortars, roofing, pipework and flooring.

Pádraig Barry, managing director for Weber, said, "The facility offers training on a wide range of products and systems from a number of Saint-Gobain brands. The decision to invest in the Flitwick site creates a more accessible location for installers and trade professionals operating in central and southern regions." He continued, "The construction market is believed to need approximately 180,000 more workers to deliver the planned housing and infrastructure projects by 2018. Part of the Saint-Gobain Technical Academy's role is to facilitate this need, but crucially it will also ensure that new and current trade professionals are of the highest calibre, trained on innovative and sustainable systems and have the opportunity to up-skill."

UK: Siniat has invested more than Euro300,000 in the construction of a new laboratory facility at its manufacturing plant in Portbury, Somerset.

The lab provides a high-specification environment for Siniat's production, maintenance and quality assurance teams and has enabled it to consolidate all three functions, which were previously based in different parts of the site, in one central, integrated location at the heart of the plant. Construction work began in May 2013 and is now complete, with the lab fully operational.

The facility will also act as an area where Siniat can welcome customers and other visitors to discuss its latest innovations and demonstrate key product performance capabilities such as fire and water resistance.

The project is just one step in a long-term vision for improving the site, says Stephane Mettavant, Plant Manager. "We've embarked on an ambitious programme of change for our Bristol plant since becoming Siniat (in October 2012). It's focused on improving facilities for our customers and our employees and creating an environment in which we can share our expertise."

"The programme has already delivered tangible results and helped us to streamline our processes throughout the plant," said Mettavant. "We have been successful in reducing the number of customer complaints we receive to industry-leading levels and the new lab represents the next stage of reinforcing that quality assurance.

Siniat was formerly known as Lafarge Plasterboard. It was acquired from Lafarge by Belgium's Etex group at the end of 2011 and began trading as Siniat in October 2012.

US/UK: The gypsum market is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.9% to reach approximately US$2.4bn by 2018, and US$3.8bn by 2023, according to a new report by analysts Smithers Apex. 'The Future of Gypsum: Market Forecasts to 2023' reports that 252Mt of gypsum is expected to be consumed in the year 2013, with 31.9% and 62.5% being consumed in the plasterboard and cement industries respectively.

The market study reports that about 75% of gypsum is used in wallboard manufacture in the US and Western Europe. Outside of these regions, Smithers Apex reports that one of the major factors driving gypsum consumption is population growth, particularly in India and China, as developing countries move from traditional wet construction techniques towards dry construction using materials such as prefabricated wallboard. Countries such as China are also encouraging wallboard usage through government policies.

The report also describes how a large portion of the world's gypsum is produced from a very large number of small operations in developing countries. For example, there are as many as 400 mines in Iran and probably more in China. The US ranks fifth globally in raw gypsum production after China, Iran, Iraq and Spain. US crude gypsum production in 2012 grew by 11% to 10.4Mt. In 2012, 10.7Mt of this gypsum was synthetic, and 11Mt was calcined gypsum.

The global financial crisis saw demand for gypsum drop in the construction industry by around 20% in 2008. The decline slowed between 2002 and 2010 and stabilised in 2011. The US and other parts of the world saw a strong recovery period in 2012. The most likely path forward for the US construction industry will be a relatively steady one, that features moderate recovery through 2013 and accelerates in 2014 and beyond.

UK/Spain: Fermacell has officially opened a new 12MM2/yr gypsum fibreboard plant near Santander in Spain. The Euro30m plant is intended to target growing market demand and increase the company's supply to its European distribution network.

"Increasing market demand and additional sales potential are the main reasons for expanding the production of gypsum fibreboards and the opening of the new factory. Our international sales offices are faced with extensive utilisation of existing factories and the new Spanish plant will improve supply to the UK and other large construction markets across Europe," said Fermacell UK general manager, Gary Carter.

UK: Construction company the Carey Group has acquired drylining specialist the BDL Group for an undisclosed sum. BDL has a turnover of Euro50m/yr and it employs nearly 120 people with an additional 650 craft operatives working on commercial and residential projects at any one time. The company is known in the UK for working on big London projects such as the Shard, the Olympics, Terminal 5 at Heathrow airport and Canary Wharf in the City of London.

Carey Group intends to preserve BDL's trading name, retaining the existing management team and staff to ensure continuity of service on existing contracts. BDL will continue executing operations from it offices in Uxbridge, London

UK: Fairport Engineering has appointed Jeff Buxton as the Sales Manager for Heavy Industries. Buxton holds over 35 years of experience working in the bulk materials processing and handling industries and is a fully-qualified mechanical and electrical engineer. His industry knowledge includes the technologies and systems used in the cement, gypsum, aggregates and alternative fuels sectors, amongst others. Previously Buxton has worked for a number of the leading suppliers of proprietary equipment to these markets.

Switzerland/UK: Swiss-based Sika, which produces additives for the gypsum and cement industries, has acquired Everbuild Building Products Ltd, the UK's largest independent manufacturer of sealants, adhesives and chemicals for the construction industry. Everbuild is located in Leeds with annual sales revenue of Euro73m and a workforce of 270 employees.

Everbuild, founded in 1994, will now operate as a subsidiary of Sika UK and will be led by the existing management team. Its founder David Seymour will stay with the company to drive the continued success of the business and ensure a smooth transition. "With Sika we have the possibility to further grow our business and to benefit from the broad research and development capabilities for further product innovation," said Seymour.

Jan Jenisch, CEO of Sika, said, "We are very proud to welcome the successful team of Everbuild to the Sika family. The acquisition will give us a strong position in the UK distribution market and offers considerable potential to further leverage Everbuild's sales channels with Sika's product range."

UK: British Gypsum, part of France's Saint-Gobain group, has been crowned Manufacturer of the Year at the 2013 Building Awards. The company picked up the accolade at the construction industry event in recognition of its focus on innovation, sustainable practices and corporate social responsibility activities in the past 12 months.

The award win follows a number of key developments for British Gypsum in 2012. The manufacturer launched ground-breaking solutions and technologies such as ACTIVair, and became the first UK plaster and drylining producer to achieve a BES 6001 'very good' for a core range of products. In late 2012, British Gypsum also helped to raise over Euro120,000 in just 100 days for construction charity CRASH and Macmillan Cancer Support.

Mike Chaldecott, managing director at British Gypsum, said, "In the past year, we've focused on making key developments that have a real positive impact for our customers, so we're really proud that this has been recognised by the built environment industry at the highest level."

UK: Saint-Gobain, the French building materials giant, has opened its new innovation centre on Great Portland Street in London, UK to showcase the company's products. Showcasing innovative and sustainable products, the centre contains product libraries and resources for specifiers alongside meeting spaces and conference facilities. The centre will display products from Saint-Gobain's many UK businesses, including Artex, British Gypsum, Ecophon, Saint-Gobain Glass, Isover, Pasquill and Weber.

Models of construction products and solutions provide a better understanding of how systems work in practice, whilst screens showcase products, solutions and other Saint-Gobain initiatives.

Speaking at the launch, Saint-Gobain's CEO Pierre-André de Chalendar said, "With this new Innovation Centre, Saint-Gobain opens up to professionals with a global vision of our market to help develop and stimulate research. This Innovation Centre reflects our ambition to become the reference for sustainable habitat, bringing innovative solutions to meet the main challenges of our time."