Gypsum industry news

Canada: Fortress Investment Group has acquired a majority stake in Gyptech, using funds managed by its affiliates, for an undisclosed sum. The company’s management team hold a minority stake in the business. Moelis & Company is acting as exclusive financial advisor to Fortress and Evercore is acting as placement agent to Fortress on the financing. Fortress said that the purchase will provide strategic support for Gyptech's global growth, with an emphasis on the scaling of technologies and the expansion of client services.

Jeremy McKellar, the CEO of Gyptech, commented “With Fortress' backing, we will continue to grow our aftermarket services and bring to market energy-efficient technologies that are crucial for the future of sustainable construction.”

Ben Green, Director at Fortress, added “Gyptech is a great company with a market-leading position supplying equipment that's foundational to the building construction industry across the globe. With strong demand tailwinds and a great leadership team, we're excited about the company's growth opportunities.”

Gyptech designs, engineers and builds new and replacement production lines for gypsum wallboard and asphalt-shingle facilities. It was established in 1993 and holds offices in North America and Europe.

Fortress Investment Group is a global investment manager. Founded in 1998, it manages US$49bn of assets under management as of 30 September 2024, on behalf of approximately 2000 institutional clients and private investors worldwide across a range of credit and real estate, private equity and permanent capital investment strategies.

France: Saint-Gobain Placo has installed a heat and water recovery system in its Val-de-Cognac gypsum wallboard plant. In a post to LinkedIn, the company said that the new system has reduced the plant’s CO₂ emissions by 14%, its energy consumption by 11% and its water consumption by 10% compared to 2019 levels.

Canada: CertainTeed Canada has received environmental assessment approval from the Nova Scotia Department of Environment and Climate Change for its Antrim Gypsum Project in Halifax County, Nova Scotia. It can now move to the project’s permitting phase and toward construction beginning in 2026.

The subsidiary of France-based Saint-Gobain intends to establish operations in Nova Scotia, where eastern North America’s only known major source of gypsum is located. The company will then strengthen its ability to supply its wallboard plants in eastern Canada and the US with locally mined gypsum.

CertainTeed Canada also recently completed construction on its Kootenay West Mine in British Columbia, which is now operational at full capacity with plans to develop a new railway to connect better to other units in western Canada. The company is also reopening its Amaranth Mine in Manitoba to serve central Canada. These efforts are in addition to a partnership with New West Gypsum to recycle and reuse wallboard in production in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec, which has led to over 1Mt of wallboard being recycled and reused at the Vancouver plant alone.

Philippines: Thailand-based Shera aims to increase its market share in the Philippines building materials sector to over 40% by the end of 2025, BusinessWorld News has reported. Shera Philippines head Thunnop Jumpasri said that this will involve an expansion of its operations in Mindanao and Visayas.

This coincides with Shera’s launch of two gypsum wallboard products, the Gypsum Standard Board and Gypsum Moisture Resistant Board, on 21 November 2025.

France: Knauf France aims to use 35% recycled gypsum at its Fos-sur-Mer gypsum wallboard plant in Bouches-du-Rhône, with an interim target of 10% by 2025. The company inaugurated the 30Mm²/yr plant in March 2024. It is currently using its own offcuts in production, but has a dedicated silo in which to also store gypsum from other sources in future. The plant’s wallboard requires 15 – 20% less energy than is used at a ‘traditional’ Knauf plant through the use of a vertical mill and high-efficiency driers. Its water use is optimised by drawing it in batches.

Les Cahiers Techniques News has reported that general manager Christine Muscat said "The ramp-up is gradual and we are at a third of production capacity, which we plan to reach fully in the second half of 2025."