Gypsum industry news

UK/Belgium: Siniat has boosted its sales of its premium thermal wallboard by 56% year-on-year with a marketing campaign. Taxi Studio, a creative firm in Bristol, UK, devised a campaign to extol the benefits of using the premium thermal wallboard to persuade merchants, builders and homeowners to trade up from using a standard thermal wallboard to Siniat's premium offering.

Siniat's marketing and communications manager Fiona O' Callaghan said that the decision to bring in people with more expertise has paid off: "We had no experience of executing a national marketing campaign and the benefits of the thermal plasterboard are complex ones to communicate," she said. "What's more, having recently rebranded there was very little knowledge of the Siniat brand. Taxi Studio managed to devise a campaign that dealt with all aspects as well as creating a real internal buzz around the company. We're absolutely delighted with the results and the creativity of the campaign has really opened our eyes."

Indonesia: Vanguard Mining Corporation has agreed with Yupolo Resources to buy 80% equity interest in the cement plant and to co-develop a 3.5km² gypsum and limestone mine in Nusa Tenggara Timur, Indonesia. It is expected that the gypsum deposits will be in excess of 30Mt, while the limestone deposits are approximately 400Mt. The proposed mining concession is 4km away from the newly-expanded Menanga Sea Port. The companies plan to develop the concession in four stages.

UAE: Mustafa Furnishing Industries, FZC, a manufacturer of carpet and wood furniture, has announced plans to open a gypsum wallboard plant in Sharjah Airport Free Zone (SAIF Zone). The US$6m project will be constructed over an area of 1000m².

Waseem Ahsan Chaudhary, Managing Director and owner of the group, said, "The construction of the new factory will begin within two months and production will commence by the end of 2015."

Uzbekistan: Knauf has launched a consulting centre at the Samarkand State Architecture and Construction Institute, named after Mirzo Ulugbek, on 4 September 2014 in Samarkand, Samarqand Province. This is Knauf's second consulting centre in Uzbekistan. The first was opened in June 2008 under Tashkent State Architecture and Construction Institute, which has proven its efficiency in training skilled builders.

The centre will provide training to all interested parties on the use of modern construction materials. The training programmes are designed for various groups, including individuals who repair their houses on their own as well as professionals. Each trainee will receive technical documentation, manuals and other literature. Dmitry Deripalko, director general of Knauf Gips Bukhara, underlined that the centre will assist young people and builders to receive theoretical and practical skills.
Knauf purchased 30.8% of state assets in Bukharagips for US$1.55m and invested US$6.3m over a three-year period. Knauf currently holds 98.98% stake in the enterprise, while employees and other shareholders hold 1.02%. The enterprise specialises in the production of dry gypsum mixtures and was founded in 1934. Bukharagips owns a gypsum mine with 45Mt of reserves with 90-100% calcium content, a lime mine with 7.8Mt of reserves and several other mines. Knauf launched production of dry gypsum mixtures in 2009 at the 60,000t capacity Bukharagips plant.

Indonesia: Vanguard Mining Corporation (VNMC) has declared that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to purchase an 80% equity interest in Yupolo Resources in exchange for a combination of cash and stock.

VNMC and Yupolo Resources will co-develop a 35km2 gypsum and limestone concession in Nusa Tenggara Timur, Indonesia. The mine is 4km from the newly-expanded Menanga Sea Port. The gypsum deposits at the concession are of high quality (purity of 85 - 95%) and estimated to be in excess of 30Mt, while the limestone deposits are about 400Mt.

The two companies plan to establish the concession in four stages: Stage 1 includes the gypsum and limestone mining to produce up to 2Mt/yr of gypsum and limestone by the second year of production. Products will be sold to local markets and exports, for which Yupolo Resources already has committed buyers. Stage 2 will consist of the construction of a 2.5Mt/yr capacity clinker plant. The clinker would be supplied to cement plants in the local region. Stage 3 involves the construction of a mini cement plant with 0.1Mt/yr of production capacity. Cement consumption in the surrounding areas is more than 3Mt/yr and has a double-digit growth rate. Stage 4 includes the construction of an integrated 1.2Mt/yr capacity cement plant.

Choky Simanjuntak, chairman and CEO of Yupolo Resources, said "We are pleased to cooperate with Vanguard Mining Corporation to develop this concession and are confident that our products will be able to meet part of the growing demand of gypsum, limestone, clinker and cement for the domestic, as well as the export markets."