Gypsum industry news

US: Xeriant has partnered with a ‘leading US-based compounding facility’ for lab-scale production and testing of its Nexboard alternative wallboard. Dow Jones Institutional News has reported that the collaboration will centre on modification of Nexboard’s intumescent system. The aim is to increase its fire resistance in line with the NFPA 286 fire test-based safety standard for interior wall and ceiling finishes.

Xeriant CEO Keith Duffy said "This collaboration leverages decades of experience in processing and testing plastic composite formulations. Their vast knowledge base, combined with the ability to produce and test small samples, allows us to compress the product development life cycle, lowering costs and shortening the timeline to full-scale production."

India: Knauf India says that all of its products are compliant with Indian Standards Institution (ISI) norms, as dictated by the Bureau of Indian Standards.

The Hindustan Times newspaper has reported that Knauf India CEO Sumit Bidani said "Knauf India is proud to be the first company in the market to achieve full compliance with the new ISI standards for plasterboards. This milestone is a reflection of our ongoing commitment to quality, safety and sustainability. We believe these standards will further enhance the trust our customers and partners place in us."

US: Xeriant will begin to produce its Nexboard alternative wallboard for sale at some time in the near-term future after making further recipe adjustments focused on ensuring fire safety. The company has contracted large-scale production to a ‘well-established’ producer, with which it is currently in the setup stage. It is also in talks with a bank about finance.

CEO Keith Duffy said "After initial fire testing at a national certification laboratory in June 2024, we engaged a polymer chemist to refine Nexboard's composition with a focus on passing the rigorous NFPA 286 fire safety test. This step followed several modifications in the base material and fire-retardant compositions and the finalisation of a production method that ensures the highest-volume, best quality and lowest-cost output. This extensive research and testing over many months has led us to believe that the additional changes will enable Nexboard to meet or even surpass the existing code requirements for building materials used in our targeted applications."

US: Xeriant has hired the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and another accreditation agency to test its NEXBOARD waste plastic-based wallboard for the construction market. The producer says that tests will include the NFPA 286 and the ASTM E84 fire safety tests, as well as tests of tensile strength, hardness, water resistance, acoustic and thermal insulating performance, and volatile organic compound emissions.

Georgia: Knauf inaugurated a new Euro30m plaster plant in Georgia on 13 October 2022, Sarke News has reported.

Georgian Minister of Economy Levan Davitashvili said that Georgia's current 'high economic growth' is partly due to Knauf's continued investment in its gypsum activities in the country. Davitashvili noted that Knauf has trained 1000 people at its construction industry training centre since 2018.

The minister said that Knauf continually raises the Georgian building materials industry to 'new standards.' He added "The professional knowledge brought by the company and the technologies introduced by it are also very important."

Belgium: Eurogypsum, the European federation of national associations of producers of gypsum products, has welcomed proposed changes to the European Union’s (EU) Construction Products Regulation (CPR). It said that it welcomed “…the proposal presented by the European Commission (EC) on 30 March 2022 as an ambitious basis to strengthen and modernise the existing rules, as well as to speed up the uptake of sustainable and circular practices in the construction product manufacturing industry.”

In preliminary feedback comments the association said that it supports a European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) driven system as opposed to increased regulatory powers for construction material manufacturing that the new proposals might create. For the assessment of the environmental performance of products the association wants more clarity about any potential new digital approach. It reiterated that it supports the continued use of Life-Cycle Assessments (LCA) and Environmental Product Decelerations (EPD). It also called for product labelling to be provided in an electronic format with easy-to-understand pictograms as the norm. However it suggested that any consumer should be able to request a paper version if required.

The CPR regulations were originally introduced in 2011 and are recognisable to consumers through the use of the CE (Communauté Européenne) markings on certain products. The EC has since decided to revise the regulations to fit with newer policy priorities including the European Green Deal.

Vietnam: Vietnam National Chemical Group’s DAP No 1 – Hai Phong fertiliser plant is exploring options to use phosphogypsum as an additive in cement production. The company is working with the government on finding a use for the by-product of fertiliser production, according to the Viet Nam News newspaper. Duong Duy Hung, the director of the Planning Department at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Science and Technology have been developing new standards and regulations on the use of phosphogypsum plaster for use in the building materials sector. A phosphogypsum dump at the plant is expected to be utilised by 2025.