Gypsum industry news

Kazakhstan: Russia-based Volma has completed its acquisition of a gypsum plant in Inderborsky, Atyrau Region and a nearby quarry. No value for the transaction has been disclosed. The company noted that the stone extracted from the quarry has a gypsum content of 94%. The plant has started recruiting employees and will supply the local market with products under the Volma brand. Reports in the Russia-based media in August 2023 indicated that Volma was preparing to buy a plant in Kazakhstan with a production capacity of 120,000t/yr of building gypsum and other products.

Kazakhstan: Russia-based Volma is preparing to finalise the purchase of a gypsum plant in Kazakhstan. The unnamed target of the acquisition has a production capacity of 120,000t/yr of building gypsum and other products, according to the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper. The transaction also includes a gypsum deposit. Discussions for the acquisition first started in February 2023. The plant is expected to become part of Volma in the third quarter of 2023.

Russia: Volma has reported increased demand for gypsum wallboard as well as other products including its plasters in the first quarter of 2022. It says it has compensated for economic sanctions imposed by countries in European Union by raising exports to countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States although its key market remains in Russia. However, it fixed its prices in March 2022 to support the local construction sector. In 2021 the building materials company invested around Euro7m towards upgrading its plants. One of the largest projects was the installation at its Voskresensk plant of a new gypsum furnace, which it says it the largest in Europe.

Russia: Volma says it fixed its product prices for key customers from mid-March 2022. Vladimir Ovchintsev, the general director of Volma, said, “Sometimes it is worth making decisions that are not so beneficial for business, but extremely important for supporting our partners.” He added that the company would lose profitability but that the company viewed it as strategically important to support the construction sector. He added that the decision was important in ‘unpredictable and changeable’ conditions.

Belarus: Construction of Belgips new 30MM2/yr gypsum wallboard plant in Gatovo, Minsk District is expected to be completed in October 2018. The plant will then take another six months for start-up and commissioning before it starts commercial operation in mid-2019, according to Belarus Daily News. The unit is a joint venture between Russia’s Volma Corporation and Germany’s Knauf.

Belarus: Knauf Gips plans to invest around Euro70m in a gypsum wallboard plant at Gatovo near Minsk. The decision follows the announcement that Knauf has acquired a 50% share in the charter capital of Volma’s operations in Belarus, according to the Belarusian Telegraph Agency. Knauf arranged to become a joint-owner of Belgips with Russia’s Volma in early 2017

Construction of Belgips’ new plant started in late 2015. Once completed the unit plans to produce 30Mm²/yr of gypsum wallboard, 0.5m²/yr of gypsum partition blocks and 0.1Mt/yr of dry building mixtures. Products made at the plant will be used domestically and for export.

Belarus: Knauf is expected to become the joint owner of Belgips in April 2017 when Belorussian and Russian competition bodies approve its purchase of half of the company from Russia's Volma. Following the transaction Volma will own the remaining half of the gypsum wallboard producer, according to Business News Belarus. The move follows a decision by Volma to concentrate on the Russian market. The Belorussian government has already approved the deal.

Russia: Turkey's Erişim has completed another gypsum plant in Orenburg, Russia. The official opening of the gypsum plant Volma took place on 4 September 2015. The Orenburg Regional Governor, Yury Berg, the President of Volma, Alexander Malashkin and the Chairman of Board of Volma, Yury Goncharov, took part in the opening ceremony.

"Volma Orenburg is a modern, ecologically-safe project that will actively participate in the implementation of import replacement projects and in the cooperation between Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) countries," said Goncharov.

The new plant has been built with high-tech, environmentally-friendly technologies. The plaster production volume upon achieving its estimated capacity will be 120,000t/yr. From pre-engineering to commissioning, the plant has been completed in 16 months by Erişim.

Volma's other new gypsum plant in Adygeya, the 240,000t/yr Maikop plant, will be completed in the fourth quarter of 2015 and was also built by Erişim.

Belarus: Construction of a new gypsum plant in Hatava near Minsk started on 7 October 2015. The project is financed by Russia's Volma Corporation, which acquired the Belarusian government's 99.5% stake in AAT Belhips, a Minsk-based manufacturer of gypsum products, for Euro4.65m in 2014. In 2014, Volma Corporation also signed an agreement whereby it would provide a total of Euro45.5m for the modernisation of the Belhips plant and the construction of a new gypsum plant.

Volma Corporation chose Belarus as the place for its new plant because of the country's 'stability and open economy,' according to Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Anatol Kalinin. According to him, the future plant, which is expected to be completed in less than two and a half years, will provide a boost to the Belarusian economy and contribute to Volma's development as well. The plant will manufacture 30Mm²/yr of wallboard, 500,000Mm³/yr of gypsum blocks and 100,000t/yr of dry building mixes. Most of the output will be exported to western Europe when operations start in 2018. The new plant is expected to create at least 180 new jobs.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of Volma Company Yuri Goncharov stressed that the construction of a new plant is not a simple project from an economic point of view. "It is not the best time for return on investment. However, looking into the future we understand that the Belarusian construction sector has big potential," said Goncharov. "These are big capacities. Today, Belarus consumes 12Mm2/yr of gypsum. Our main objective is to prove to the Belarusian construction industry that gypsum materials are more efficient in terms of energy performance, environmental friendliness and economy."

Belarusian First Deputy Construction Minister Alyaksandr Kruchanaw described the project as very important for Belarus' construction sector. "It is important for Minsk as well because it is part of efforts to remove industrial facilities from the capital city, which will improve the environment in the city," said Kruchanaw.

Russia: According to ENP Newswire, VTB Bank and Volma have signed two loan agreements worth Euro9.55m over three years. Volma will use the funds to finance the construction of a new plant in the Republic of Adygea and to increase its working capital.

"Supporing manufacturers is one of the bank's priorities, given the importance of the real economy sector to Russia. Volma is a major producer of finishing materials and a serious competitor for West European companies. I'm sure that the bank's support will help it strengthen its position both in Russia and in foreign markets," said Mikhail Oseevskiy, deputy president and chairman of VTB Bank management board.

"VTB Bank is very important for Volma's growth, especially in the current difficult economic situation. It is a strategic financial partner and its assistance has helped us increase our business in recent years,' said Volma director general Vladimir Ovchintsev.