Qatar: SIG plc, a distributor of specialist building products in Europe, has acquired a majority shareholding in Drywall Qatar, an independent distributor and specialist installer of interior finishing materials in Qatar.

"We are excited to partner with SIG, a leading European player in the construction material procurement sector. SIG's financial strength and wide product portfolio of 30,000 products coupled to the key relationships with over 6000 suppliers will allow Drywall Qatar to provide an even deeper product supply chain and enhanced product offering to both new and existing clients," said Drywall Qatar's director, George Xydas.

Vietnam: Deputy prime minister Hoang Trung Hai has directed the implementation of solutions to treat waste at thermal power plants for energy conservation and environmental protection.

Trung Hai urged the concerned parties to more effectively implement Government Decision 1696/QD-TTg on measures to treat gypsum, ash and cinder from thermal power, chemical or fertiliser plants for the production of building materials. Special focus should be paid to the Vinh Tan in Binh Thuan, An Khanh in Thai Nguyen, Song Hau in Mekong Delta Hau Giang and Vung Ang in Ha Tinh thermal power plants, where waste treatment is a pressing issue.

He asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Construction to coordinate with localities to disseminate effective waste treatment models while supplementing and completing criteria on the quality of ash and cinder for recycling in cement and construction material production.

Vietnam is home to 19 operating thermal power plants with a total capacity of 14,480MW, which discharge about 15Mt/yr of ash and cinder. After 2020, the country is expected to have 43 thermal power plants with a combined capacity of 39,020MW, discharging over 30Mt/yr of ash and cinder.

Pakistan: DFB Gypsum Industries has announced that it is building a new gypsum facility in Hattar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The new plant is expected to start production in the middle of 2016. It will have a 100,000t/yr plaster line and a 6Mm²/yr wallboard line.

US: H.I.G. Capital, a global private equity investment firm, has announced that its portfolio company ACG Materials, a vertically integrated producer and processor of high-quality minerals and aggregates including gypsum, limestone, sand, gravel and downstream food, pharmaceutical and plaster products, has acquired Art Wilson Company (AWC). AWC mines, processes and markets anhydrite, gypsum and limestone products used in agricultural, industrial, and commercial applications across Nevada, California, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. It owns and operates a quarry and downstream production facility in Carson City, Nevada with additional owned reserves under development nearby.

"We are excited about the continued expansion of our operations into the Western US," said Paul Harrington, CEO of ACG Materials. "Art Wilson Company not only allows us to acquire the market leading supplier of agricultural gypsum serving California's Central Valley and surrounding areas, but also broadens our customer footprint, product portfolio and end market diversification. AWC has had a long and successful history since its founding by Art Wilson in the 1950s and we look forward to serving as great stewards of the business going forward."

AWC is the fifth add-on acquisition that ACG has completed since H.I.G. acquired ACG at the end of 2012 and marks the second acquisition in 2015. In February 2015, ACG acquired JA Jack & Sons, a Seattle, Washington-based miner and processor of limestone products.