Gypsum industry news

US: Colin Hanson, one of the founders of gypsum wallboard moisture measurement expert Sensortech Systems, retired from his position of president of the company on 14 May 2020. A native of Southport in the north west of England, Colin Hanson established Sensortech Systems in Oxnard, California, along with Logan Mosteller and Bob Blankenship, in 1983. He had previously worked for leading moisture measurement equipment manufacturers in the UK and US and in the oil exploration sector in the UK.

Hanson was the pioneering developer behind Sensortech’s resonant frequency (RF) radio approach to moisture measurement. This offered higher accuracy, and hence control, to wallboard manufacturers, as it was more directly dependent on moisture content than the established techniques based on power-loss measurements. The RF approach has since risen to become the dominant approach to wallboard moisture measurement worldwide.

The company’s first product based on the RF approach was the ST-1100 moisture sensor range, which was replaced by the ST-2200 in 1992 and, subsequently, the ST-3300 range in 2018. Sensortech also produces the Instantaneous Moisture Profiling System (IMPS), which analyses moisture across the full width of the board, and has an extensive offering of near infra-red sensors. It most recently developed the Kiln Jam Detector for use inside board dryers.

As Sensortech grew in the 1980s and 1990s, Hanson took over the shareholdings of the other two directors. He became sole owner of the company in 1996. He sold Sensortech Systems to KPM Analytics on 14 May 2019, remaining as president until his retirement a year later. He will remain on hand in an advisory capacity and will continue to offer his insights and expertise to the company, with a focus on the development of existing and new products.

Speaking upon the sale of Sensortech to KPM, Hanson said, “There is a depth of talent within Sensortech, supplemented by KPM, that will provide a seamless transition to a successful future. KPM is putting resources into growing Sensortech, which is fantastic. The company has a development queue representing years of research but there are opportunities to accelerate that with KPM.”

Ron Geis, KPM Analytics’ President, has taken over the role of president of Sensortech Systems.

Australia: The board of directors of Boral has announced that Boral CEO and managing director Mike Kane will declare his retirement after delivering the company’s whole-year 2020 (1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020) results in mid-August 2020. Kane said, “I am proud of Boral’s people and I thank them for their continued support as well as the support of our customers. I remain committed to Boral and look forward to delivering Boral’s full-year 2020 results and facilitating a smooth leadership transition.”

The Sydney Herald newspaper reported that Boral revised its whole-year net profit forecast up from US$214m to US$228m, which would be down by 19% from US$281m in the Australian financial year 2019.

Belgium: Serge Azais has retired from Knauf Group. The 67-year old’s most recent posting was as the chief executive officer (CEO) for the Western Europe and Latin America Region. He has been succeeded by Dominique Bossan, a French national, who was previously responsible for the development of the Central Europe Region for Knauf Insulation.

Azais was successively the Managing Director of Isolava in Belgium, then Managing Director of Knauf Belgium before joining the Knauf Group Management Committee in 2010. Azaïs also took over responsibility for the European Gypsum Industry as president of Eurogypsum in 2006 and 2007. He retires after spending more than 40 years in the plaster industry, including 27 years with the Knauf Group.

US: Thomas J Plath has been elected by the board of directors of International Paper to become Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Global Citizenship, from effect from 1 March 2017. Plath joined International Paper in 1991, serving most recently as Vice President, Human Resources, Global Businesses.

The company also announced the retirement of Thomas G Kadien, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Government Relations and Global Citizenship. Kadien joined the company in 1978 and will retire effective 30 June 2017.