Gypsum industry news

US: The city council of Glenwood Springs in Colorado is aiming to implement single-haul refuse collection in order to eliminate the dumping of recyclables by 2023, local press has reported. A review of waste management practices found that the city has a recycling contamination rate of just 8%, yet 80% of waste sent to landfill consists of recyclable materials. Eagle County Recycle operates the city's waste management facility. The company says that it supplies waste cardboard for gypsum wallboard backing production in neighbouring Oklahoma.

Manager Jesse Masten said “The mill in Oklahoma that we send the cardboard to actually makes the paper backing for wallboard. Then, that paper backing is potentially sent back to the American Gypsum gypsum wallboard plant in Gypsum and used for the wallboard that they’re producing.”

Romania: Germany-based Knauf has announced plans for the construction of a new gypsum wallboard plant at Huedin in Cluj County. The company said that it plans to invest Euro76m in the plant’s construction. It says that the investment will advance the Romanian government's 'energy savings offensive' by supporting a renovation drive for the country’s housing stock. The government aims to increase the national area of modern renovated properties by a factor of six, with a Euro30bn allocation from its Recovery and Resilience Fund.

Knauf's managing partner Alexander Knauf said “The commitment demonstrates our trust and confidence in the country and our employees. We look forward to becoming part of the local community. Together, we are setting new standards for building and living in Romania.”

Knauf had previously planned to build a 35Mm²/yr gypsum wallboard plant at Huedin at a cost of Euro70m. A mine at nearby Aghireșu would supply the planned plant with raw materials. The Aghireșu mine reportedly has 100 years' worth of gypsum reserves. Knauf first delayed its Huedin plant plans in 2009 in light of the economic situation at that time.

Azerbaijan: The Yukhari Agjakend gypsum deposit in Goranboy District will go up for sale on 11 November 2022. Offers will be received in an auction held by the Azerbaijan Centre for Organisation of Auctions of the Ministry of Economy's State Service on Property Issues.

UK: Knauf has maintained its 'Excellent' rating for BES 6001 Responsible Sourcing of its wallboard, laminated plasterboard and gypsum powder products, a rating that it has held since 2019.

The BES 6001 standard is a means of securing certification to demonstrate through independent, third-party certification, that raw materials for products certified against the scheme have been responsibly sourced and that Knauf manufactures these products in a way that minimises the impact on the environment and natural resources. Knauf said that this was a 'significant achievement,' requiring input from all areas of its business, from procurement and manufacturing activities to distribution to customers.

Belgium: Etex’s revenue rose by 16% year-on-year to Euro1.79bn in the first half of 2022 from Euro1.46bn in the same period in 2021 on a like-for-like basis. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 20% to Euro319m from Euro266m.

Bernard Delvaux, the chief executive officer of Etex said, “In the first half of 2022, like many other industrial players, Etex had to cope with significant raw material and energy price inflation in the context of post-Covid-19 disruptions, volatility and the war between Russia and Ukraine. To face this situation, we had to implement a number of price increases. Our volumes and margins have been impacted, but these measures allowed us to achieve a positive evolution of both top line and bottom line.”

The company’s Building Performance division reported slightly lower gypsum wallboard sales volumes despite delivering a 16% increase in revenue to Euro1.23bn. The group also created an Insulation division in May 2022 following the completion of its acquisition of URSA.

New Zealand: Fletcher Building Materials recorded consolidated sales of US$5.37bn during its 2022 financial year, up by 4.7% year-on-year from US$5.13bn in the previous year. Its net earnings also rose by 42%, to US$273m from US$193m.

The group's building materials division, which includes Winstone Wallboards, contributed US$1.02bn-worth (17%) of group sales. The business delivered 'strong' volumes, with pricing initiatives effectively offsetting cost inflation. The latter particularly impacted imports of raw materials. The business made capital expenditure investments of US$129m, of which US$98.4m went towards the construction of Winstone Wallboards' upcoming Tauriko gypsum wallboard plant in the Bay of Plenty region. The plant's commissioning in 2023 will increase the company's production capacity by 30% and reduce its CO₂ emissions and waste generation.

Fletcher Building Materials chief executive officer Ross Taylor said "The 2022 financial year has not been without its challenges. Global and national supply chain disruptions have continued into the third year of the Covid-19 pandemic. In New Zealand, surging plasterboard orders following the first quarter lockdown outstripped our ability to supply, despite our manufacturing facilities running at record levels. In recognition of our key role as a local manufacturer in keeping the market supplied, we carried out a range of measures to address the shortage including operating production lines 24/7, running down inventory, importing additional product, and establishing an emergency supply pool." Taylor added "The New Zealand Commerce Commission recently published its interim market study report into residential building supplies. The final report and recommendations will be published in December 2022 and in the meantime we will continue to work collaboratively with both the commission and the government."

Switzerland: Sika’s sales were US$5.45bn in the first half of 2022, up by 18% year-on-year from first-half 2021 levels. The group also increased its operating profit during the half, by 23% to US$874m.

CEO Thomas Hasler called market conditions during the half ‘challenging.’ He continued “Thanks to our broad diversification, we operate in several markets with different levels of maturity, and we can leverage our solutions across a broad base. We were largely able to offset the increase in price for raw materials with higher product prices, and supply bottlenecks were resolved via our global procurement organisation. The current challenges will remain in the second half of 2022, but I am confident that we can meet our targets for 2022 thanks to our dedicated employees.”

Peru: Etex says that an upgrade to its Huachipa gypsum wallboard plant is currently being built and should be operational by mid-2023. It is intended to double the production capacity of the unit, according to the Gestión newspaper. The company has invested Euro36m in the project.

Etex markets its wallboard under the Gyplac brand locally. Robert Haanschoten Rodríguez, Etex’s Andean Region Marketing Manager, said that the country exhibits a strong self-build market. Gypsum wallboard sales represent 20 – 25% of the group’s sales in the country. Since 2018 sales of wallboard have grown by 50%. The country reportedly has a wallboard consumption of 0.7m²/capita compared to 4m²/capita in Chile. However, increases in the cost of raw materials have led Etex to put its product prices up by 5 – 12% across all lines.

Belgium: Eurogypsum’s board of directors has elected Jörg Ertle president of the association. The Etex head of corporate social responsibility will succeed Saint-Gobain Group vice-president for sustainable development Emmanuel Normant, who now takes over the position of Eurogypsum vice-president. Knauf Group Central Europe managing director and Knauf Gips chair Christoph Dorn will serve as the association’ new treasurer.

Ertle studied mining and mineral engineering at RWTH University Aachen and holds a Ph.D in environment technology from Berlin Technical University. He has over 20 years’ gypsum industry experience, including time spent in management roles Lafarge before and after its acquisition by Etex. Having previously headed Etex’s worldwide gypsum sourcing, Ertle took on his current role in the group in 2019. He has also participated in different Eurogypsum working groups concerning raw material policy, and has chaired the association’s Environment and Sustainability Committee since 2018.

Ertle said “I am taking over Eurogypsum’s presidency at a challenging time for Europe, with a global climate and environmental challenge, as well as a particularly unstable international environment. Economic actors are working under increased regulatory and financial pressure.” He added “I am convinced that gypsum solutions are a strong enabler to facilitate this transition, supporting the ambitions of the European Green Deal.”

Belgium: ETEX recorded consolidated net sales of Euro2.97bn in 2021, up by 14% year-on-year from Euro2.62bn in 2020. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 12% to Euro522m from Euro468m, while its profit for the year dropped by 1.4% to Euro198m from Euro201m. The group’s building performance recorded like-for-like sales growth of 21% from 2020 levels and of 15% from 2019 levels. Its gypsum wallboard volumes grew year-on-year, while strong demand in all regions except South Africa impacted some export businesses through supply chain issues and increased shipping costs. The company adapted its prices to offset a sharp rise in raw material and energy cost prices.

During the year, ETEX acquired a top-three Australian gypsum wallboard producer and completed its rebranding as Siniat. It also diversified with the launch of a fourth group division, new ways, which includes light steel framing production operations.