Gypsum industry news

Iran: A gypsum exporter has despatched a trial shipment of 50 containers of ground gypsum by rail from Qom to Yiwu, China. Trend News Agency has reported that the trial is the outcome of successful negotiations between China, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan in April 2024. The 15-day train journey passes through all four countries. The containers will transfer trains at the Etrek rail terminal in Turkmenistan, in order to circumvent issues of rail gauge differences between countries.

Bolivia: The Port Services Administration (ASP) despatched a 3000t pilot shipment of gypsum to Paraguay on 23 July 2024. The gypsum, from Cochabamba, was loaded onto three river barges for transport via the River Paraguay from Puerto Busch in Santa Cruz. Local press has reported that ASP used 200t/hr conveyor belts for loading.

General manager Dante Justiniano said "This milestone not only represents a significant advance in the area of infrastructure and national logistics, but also fulfils the mandate of our President Luis Arce, which aims to establish a port that enhances foreign trade and strengthens import and export, with access to the Atlantic Ocean.”

Ukraine: Germany-based Knauf has purchased 0.33 hectares of land in Kyiv’s Solomianskyi District for the 'operation and maintenance' of its transport shop. Business World News has reported that the company agreed to pay US$327,000 for the land.

Romania: Grenzebach Romania has broken ground on its construction of its upcoming Iasi production centre. The equipment supplier plans for the centre to serve as a hub for its European building materials, glass and intralogistics activities. Grenzebach chief executive officer Steven Althaus said that the group is expanding to meet growing European demand in the sectors in which it operates, while also creating 100 new jobs for Romanians.

UK: British Gypsum has started converting its heavy-good vehicle fleet fuel source to the biofuel Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) from diesel. The subsidiary of France-based Saint-Gobain expects to use 75,000l/week of HVO. This means that around 40% of its UK fleet will now operate on HVO fuel, with a further 10% using Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). The use of multi-fuelled vehicles at this scale is expected to reduce its carbon emissions by approximately 70% year-on-year.

To support the implementation of HVO vehicles, the company has made several upgrades to site infrastructure that include a HVO refuelling point at its Robertsbridge plant and a new fuel island capable of delivering 110,000l/week at its distribution centre in Gotham.

US: Eagle Materials has recorded consolidated sales in its 2022 financial year of US$1.9bn, up by 15% year-on-year. The group’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was US$657m, up by 15%. Full-year light materials sales totalled US$804m, up by 27%, with gypsum wallboard and paperboard operating earnings of US$274m, up by 42%. The group sold 269Mm2 of gypsum wallboard, up by 3% year-on-year.

President and CEO Michael Haack said "As we look back on another extraordinary year, I am extremely proud of our team's ability to deliver record operating and financial results despite multiple external challenges, including transportation disruptions, supply chain constraints and, of course, continuing to navigate the Covid-19 pandemic.” He added "As we begin our new fiscal year, Eagle is well-positioned, both financially and geographically, to capitalise on the underlying demand fundamentals that are expected to support steady and sustainable construction activity growth over the near and long term. We expect that infrastructure investment should increase in the latter part of our fiscal year, as federal funding from the recently enacted Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act begins in earnest. And, despite recent interest rate increases, housing demand remains strong across our geographies, outpacing the supply of homes. Nonresidential construction activity is also picking up."

US: ML Environmental Group has secured a strategic partnership and exclusive US distribution agreement with gypsum wallboard recycling technology producer Scott Equipment Company. Scott Equipment Company produces the GypStream paper backing removal system. Together, the companies say that they will expand the gypsum wallboard recycling solutions offering available to US customers.

Scott Equipment Company business development and product marketing manager Kevin Pedretti said "Our recycling systems, including both the food waste organics recovery system and the gypsum wallboard separation and recovery machines, position nicely with ML Environmental Group's vision to offer their customers an end-to-end solution.” He continued "We have been very impressed with the leadership and growth of ML Environmental and look forward to making the world a better place with this partnership."

UK: Freight transportation services provider XPO Logistics has started taking delivery of 76 Volvo FM trucks that will be used exclusively on the company's contract with British Gypsum. 23 of the tractor units are Volvo FM LNG models running on bio-generated liquefied natural gas. The other 53 Volvo FM trucks will be fuelled with hydrotreated vegetable oil. The vehicles are expected to reduce their greenhouse gases emissions by 90% compared to diesel tractors giving a total network reduction of 30%.

Brian Fisher, Head of Distribution at British Gypsum, said "Our new fleet of vehicles underlines our commitment to ensuring that our products are delivered to customers in an efficient, secure, safe and sustainable way, whilst further improving welfare standards for our drivers. The latest investment signifies yet more progress as we continue on our journey to being net carbon zero by 2050 and highlights our continued commitment to the Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS) and Construction Logistics and Community Safety (CLOCS) status."

The Volvo trucks will form part of British Gypsum's single, integrated transportation network, digitally managed by XPO. They will deliver building supplies to a broad customer base and will transport stock and materials including plaster, wallboard and high-performance drylining systems – between British Gypsum's five production plants. The Volvo FM LNG trucks will refuel at Gasrec's site at Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal.

Germany: Logistics visibility provider Sixfold says that Saint-Gobain Rigips will use its Sixfold’s logistics software to enable the firm’s sales teams and planners to provide customers with real-time data on shipments. Customers will be provided with live data on the status of shipments through Sixfold’s product and be able to track the status of goods in transit without calls to carriers, with the potential to gain savings of up to 30%.

Saint-Gobain Rigips’ is a joint customer of Sixfold and Transporeon, a major European logistics network. Sixfold is the exclusive shipments visibility provider for the Transporeon network and provides shipment information on over 50,000 shipments each day. The network comprises more than 1200 shippers in the manufacturing and retailing industries.

UK: British Gypsum has chosen XPO Logistics to optimise its UK supply chain with a single, digitally-managed transportation network. XPO will create an integrated transportation network for British Gypsum using a customised delivery model deployed on its XPO Connect product platform. Distribution will take place from British Gypsum’s five manufacturing plants and four outbases in the UK. Additionally, XPO will manage all downstream processes, including load securing, yard management and weighbridge operations. XPO will also make an investment in new fleet dedicated to the British Gypsum network, using vehicles outfitted with telematics and safety technology.

“XPO has the scale and vision to help us manage our growth, while serving our customers with greater efficiency and a zero-harm safety ethos. We look forward to a long and collaborative partnership in the UK,” said Brian Fisher, distribution manager, British Gypsum.