Gypsum industry news

Australia: Saint-Gobain subsidiary CSR plans to expand its Welshpool gypsum wallboard plant in Western Australia. The producer plans to upgrade the plant’s production line and expand warehouses that serve it and the neighbouring Bradford building materials plant. CSR said that the upgrade to the Welshpool wallboard plant will reduce its consumption of natural gas and electricity and facilitate its transition to alternative fuels or electricity.

CEO Paul Dalton said "This significant investment will make Welshpool safer and more sustainable, increase capacity and improve productivity and cost efficiency, all while removing risk from our supply chain.”

Australia/New Zealand: Belgium-based Etex has signed an agreement with building materials company BGC to acquire the latter’s gypsum and fibre cement businesses. The gypsum business consists of wallboard, plasters, compounds and cornice production units, and includes the Perth gypsum wallboard plant in Western Australia. BGC also operates nine warehouses across Australia and New Zealand. Etex says that the deal expands its activities in the ‘attractive’ local market, with significant growth opportunities. Finalisation is expected in early 2024.

Etex CEO Bernard Delvaux said “This deal is a strategic opportunity for Etex to complement our footprint in Australia and further increase the accessibility of our products and services for customers. This will both reinforce our gypsum wallboard offering and position us well in the growing fibre cement activities through a broad product range and good channel access.”

Thailand: Thai Gypsum Products Public Company Limited, which produces gypsum products under the Gyproc name, has launched a new distribution warehouse on Chaiyaphruk Road, Nonthaburi. The warehouse opening is part of its plan to support growth of the business sector before the introduction of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by the close of 2015.
The new facility can support import-export operations between consumers and dealers more efficiently. It also benefits from an exceptional strategic location, Chaiyaphruk Road, which stretches from Pak-Kred Nonthaburi to an immediate road connection to central areas of Bangkok or regional destinations.

"Gyproc now has six distribution warehouses; in Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Chonburi, Ayutthaya, Suratthani and the newly-launched Samutprakan facility," said Thongchai Kamolpattana, commercial director of Thai Gypsum Products Public Company Limited. "Our latest Chaiyaphruk Road depot is a spacious hub and is located in a great spot strategically. It's an area in which we see opportunities for local product sales growth. It connects with the city easily and offers ready access to a six-lane road to allow cargo to go to different regions as quickly as possible."