Global Gypsum Newsletter

Issue: GGM48 / 16 June 2022

Headlines


New Zealand: Winstone Wallboards says it will increase the supply of gypsum wallboard available for distribution by merchants by 1Mm2 from July to September 2022. It said this will equate to a 7 – 8% increase of various types of plasterboard.

Fletcher Building chief executive Ross Taylor said “The increases we will be bringing to market are possible because we will soon commission changes to the configuration of our manufacturing that we have been working on over the past three months which will produce extra, locally produced, volumes. We have also been able to secure and will import additional board from an Australian manufacturer that we can feed into our supply chain.” He added that the allocation model the company has introduced had started to help supply levels and that the completion of the new plant at Tauranga in June 2023 would also help.

In early June 2022 social housing developer Simplicity Living said it had cancelled all of its orders of Fletcher Building Gib board. In an interview with Stuff, Shane Brealey - the managing director of Simplicity Living, said that the company had decided to import wallboard instead. It said it could source equivalent wallboard products at a 20% discount or more. It added that it was taking it eight weeks to import wallboard from South-East Asia compared to eight months from Auckland.

Winstone Wallboards responded to the criticism by saying it previously had been importing wallboard from Etex Australia for around six months until the end of 2021. The arrangement ended as Australia also has a wallboard shortage. However, it added that the import arrangement might restart from August 2022 onwards.


Romania: Belgium-based Etex invested Euro1m on upgrades to the logistics capacities of its Turceni gypsum wallboard plant and its Aghiresu plaster plant. It also started work on a Euro6m sludge drying unit at coal-fired power plant in Oltenia that will supply synthetic gypsum for use at Turceni, according to See News. The company operates locally under the Siniat Romania brand. It reported a 20% year-on-year rise in turnover to Euro59.6m in 2021.


Canada: Saint-Gobain plans to carry out a US$70.9m upgrade and 40% capacity expansion of its 30Mm2/yr Montreal gypsum wallboard plant in Quebec. The project includes the replacement of natural gas with renewable electricity and a 30% reduction in energy consumption through efficiency improvements. As a result, it will turn the facility into North America’s first zero-carbon gypsum wallboard plant. Work will commence in mid-2023, with the commissioning of the upgraded plant following in late 2024.

Saint-Gobain’s vice president environmental, social, governance (ESG) North America and managing director, circular economy solutions Dennis Wilson said "Today we begin a historic new chapter at our Montreal gypsum plant, leading our industry towards a more sustainable future while increasing our production capacity at a time of unprecedented customer demand," said. "We thank our partners in the Quebec Government, the City of Saint-Catherine and Hydro-Québec for their support, and we thank our team for pushing the limits of technology and imagination to bring this bold project to life. The electrification of our Montreal plant is a massive step forward in our broader goal to decarbonise construction materials and a significant step towards our global goal of carbon neutrality by 2050."


US: CertainTeed has completed a US$1.3m upgrade to its Nashville wallboard plant in Arkansas to use recycled waste gypsum and paper. The plant will reuse 65,000t/yr of waste materials generated from the production process. The company plans to increase the amount of recycled materials in its gypsum wallboard in the future.

“In Nashville and at our manufacturing sites around the world, we remain laser-focused on reducing waste, reducing our consumption of natural resources, and increasing recycling and circularity throughout our value chain,” said Jay Bachmann, Vice President and General Manager of CertainTeed Gypsum.


US: Georgia-Pacific has opened a new gypsum quarry near Sweetwater in Texas. The 240 hectare site is located next to a new unit being built at the company’s Sweetwater gypsum wallboard plant, according to the Sweetwater Reporter newspaper. Once operational, the quarry will supply the plant with around 2000t/day of raw gypsum.

The gypsum wallboard producer is currently building a new 65Mm2/yr gypsum wallboard plant adjacent to its existing 30Mm2/yr Sweetwater gypsum wallboard plant. Production at the new site is expected to start in late 2022.


Japan: Data from the Gypsum Board Industry Association shows that domestic shipments of gypsum wallboard fell by 0.9% year-on-year to 455Mm2 in 2021. This is the second consecutive annual decline, according to Nikkei. Local wallboard production is reportedly linked to new housing starts in the country. Recovery in non-residential markets, such as office interiors, has been slow.


Japan: Chiyode Ute has launched Chiyoda Virus Guard Board, a gypsum wallboard product with antibacterial and antiviral properties. The board’s lining is coated with an antibacterial and antiviral agent. It carries the Society of International Sustaining Growth for Antimicrobial Articles (SIAA) ISO21702 and ISO22196 markings.


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.


UK: The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is considering whether the proposed acquisition by Saint-Gobain of GCP Applied Technologies could result in the creation of a relevant merger situation or lessen market competition generally. It has asked any interested party to comment on the transaction by mid-June 2022.

Saint-Gobain said it had agreed to buy construction chemicals producer GCP Applied Technologies for Euro2bn in late 2021 with a conclusion date to the transaction by the end of 2022.


UK: Knauf UK has joined Planet Mark, an organisation that offers sustainability certification to businesses via the independent verification of social and carbon data. In doing this, Knauf has also committed to a CO2 emissions reduction of at least 2.5%/yr. Planet Mark is in the process of verifying data submitted by Knauf based on its 2021 operations and Knauf will be publishing a report later in 2022 which will outline the findings. The outcome of the report will shape Knauf’s sustainability strategy moving forward.

Steve Malkin, the chief executive officer of Planet Mark said “We are thrilled to welcome Knauf into the Planet Mark community. Without precise measurements, progress cannot be tracked and Knauf has taken the vital steps necessary to begin taking action on its emissions.”


Belgium: Etex has raised Euro800m through a sustainability-linked medium - long-term unsecured loan. The producer says that the private placement, called a Schuldschein in German finance law, comprises three Euro-denominated tranches with maturities of three, five and seven years, at fixed and floating rates.

CEO Bernard Delvaux said “We are very pleased with this new Schuldschein issuance which we successfully completed in a challenging context. It testifies to a significant appreciation of Etex’s credit quality, of its performance of the last years and it demonstrates the investors’ confidence in the company’s strategy. Moreover, this operation broadens our investors’ base at attractive market conditions, increases the number of maturities and considerably extends the duration of our debt profile.”


Canada/US: Saint-Gobain has acquired exterior building materials company Kaycan for US$928m. After the closing of the transaction in 2022, Kaycan’s US distribution arm will undergo divestiture to a third party. Kaycan currently employs 1300 people at 12 sites in Canada and the US. Saint-Gobain noted that the acquisition will complement its leadership in Canada, expanding its light and sustainable construction solutions offering in that market.


Germany: Fuchs Lubritech has merged into Fuchs Schmierstoffe. Following the merger, the latter also rebranded as Fuchs Lubricants Germany on 3 June 2022. Fuchs Lubricants Germany will assume all contractual responsibilities of Fuchs Lubritech.


Portugal: Saint-Gobain has acquired Fibroplac, which operates the 10Mm2/yr Pombal gypsum wallboard plant in Central Portugal. Saint-Gobain already operates 10 plants, in addition to a research and development centre, in Portugal. Additionally, the France-based group acquired steel structures producer Falper.

The group said that the acquisitions align with its Grow & Impact strategy, which it says is being successfully implemented in Portugal."


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."


Ukraine: The Russian military has reportedly damaged Knauf’s Donbass gypsum wallboard plant in an airstrike. Ukrainian Donetsk regional military administration chief Pavlo Kyrylenko posted on social media on 17 May 2022 that firefighters were working to contain and quell the blaze at the plant in Donetsk Region. Nobody was injured in the attack.

Knauf sent home the Knauf Gips Donbass plant’s 589 employees ‘as a precaution’ at the outbreak of war on 24 February 2022.

Knauf maintains 14 facilities with a total of 3900 employees in Russia.


US: The US Department of Energy has awarded CertainTeed its 2022 Better Project Award for the company’s installation of a 15,000t/yr production scrap paper recycling system at its Silver Grove, Kentucky, gypsum wallboard plant. The plant recycles ground paper and gypsum from the system in its gypsum wallboard production.

CertainTeed vice president environmental, social and governance North America and Saint-Gobain circular economy solutions managing director Dennis Wilson said "Our recycling technology in Silver Grove allows us to reduce our waste, reduce our consumption of natural resources and also reduce our production costs - all while continuing to produce the best gypsum wallboard product on the market.” Wilson continued “We will continue to look for ways to minimise our environmental footprint while striving to maximise our company's positive impact for our customers and the communities where we operate."


Hungary: Slovakia-based Stavmat Epitoanyag Kereskedelmi has produced its first batch of wallboard from recycled drinks cartons at its Kaposvar pilot plant in Somogy County. MTI – EcoNews has reported that the company plans to install two further production lines at the site by January 2023.

The full-scale plant will cost US$10.6m, employ 20 people and consume 50 – 70t/yr of waste drinks cartons. Stavmat Epitoanyag Kereskedelmi plans to establish a carton collection service across Southern Transdanubia. The present commissioning may lead to the establishment of a second, 10-line plant at a cost of US$21.2m.


Russia: Volma has reported increased demand for gypsum wallboard as well as other products including its plasters in the first quarter of 2022. It says it has compensated for economic sanctions imposed by countries in European Union by raising exports to countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States although its key market remains in Russia. However, it fixed its prices in March 2022 to support the local construction sector. In 2021 the building materials company invested around Euro7m towards upgrading its plants. One of the largest projects was the installation at its Voskresensk plant of a new gypsum furnace, which it says it the largest in Europe.


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.”

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