Gypsum industry news

Germany/Austria: Austria based Prinzhorn Holding, a family-owned company with headquarters in Wiener Neudorf near Vienna, Austria has confirmed the takeover of the papermill Fritz Peters GmbH & Co KG. At the location in Gelsenkirchen, around 140 workers manufacture a total of 205,000t/yr of corrugated board and plasterboard liner. It has been agreed that the purchase price will remain confidential.

Located in the middle of the Ruhr region, the Peters papermill has developed into a local market leader over the past few years. The plant specialises in the production of packaging paper and technical specialty paper (such as white and brown testliner), as well as plasterboard liner. All paper products are manufactured using 100% recycled paper. The Peters papermill's annual tonnage has more than tripled since it was founded in 1972.

"We expect to see numerous synergies stemming from the integration of the plant in Gelsenkirchen with the group's other German production locations," Cord Prinzhorn, the CEO and owner's representative for Prinzhorn Holding, explained. "Our plans for Gelsenkirchen include extensive measures to increase efficiency and capacity. The new location in the heart of Germany will enable us to meaningfully optimise transport routes to our clients. The takeover is a result of our long-term expansion strategy for the future as well as our integrated production strategy, from recycling the raw material paper to producing high-quality packaging", said Cord Prinzhorn.

The approval of trade authorities is necessary for the conclusion of the purchase. Prinzhorn Holding and the seller have agreed to keep all other details about the purchase confidential.

Hamburger Rieger is part of the Hamburger Containerboard Division of the Austria-based Prinzhorn Holding. Until now, Hamburger Rieger has been producing high-quality corrugated board at two locations in Germany – Spremberg in Brandenburg and Trostberg in Bavaria. The product lines RiegerLiner, RiegerTop, and SpreeWhite have transformed the company into a leader in quality for the white covered quality papers market segment. With 1.8Mt/yr, Hamburger Containerboard is one of the leading producers of high-quality containerboard in Europe. Hamburger Containerboard papers are made exclusively out of recycled paper.

US: United States Gypsum (USG) has announced that it has no plans to build a wallboard plant in Crystal River, Florida.

Although the company has received approval from the Southwest Florida Water Management District for a 1.750ML/day general water use permit, USG officials said that the company doesn't need the plant right now. However, officials said that USG is keeping its options open for the future.

Read the original story here: USG gets water permit for wallboard plant

US: United States Gypsum (USG) has received a 1.750ML/day water use permit for a planned wallboard and joint compound (spackle) manufacturing plant near the Duke Energy complex in the city of Crystal River, Florida.

In 2011 USG bought 0.716km² of land near the Progress Energy Florida power plant, now Duke Energy, to warehouse synthetic gypsum that is created by scrubbers at the coal-burning plants. USG takes all of the gypsum produced at the plant and moves it to the site by conveyor belt.

USG now plans to construct a gypsum processing facility at the site. Part of the water permit detailed a request for two 30.5cm wells to be located on the plant site, to which water will be piped. The plant will run six days a week, possibly seven during the peak building season.

Progressive Water Resources, which is handling the application process for USG, also investigated using reclaimed wastewater from Crystal River. However, that water has already been committed to Duke Energy.

UK: Allied Custom Gypsum (ACG), a worldwide provider of gypsum products, has announced that it is now certified by the British Retail Consortium (BRC), a leading global safety and quality certification program, as compliant to Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI).

Used by more than 20,000 certified suppliers in 90 countries, the BRC is the world's largest provider of safety and quality standards programmes for food manufacturing, packaging, storage, distribution and consumer products. The BRC aids in standardising quality, safety, operational criteria and manufacturers' fulfilment of legal obligations.

"We are extremely pleased to make the announcement of our certification and become the first and only certified calcium sulphate supplier," said Jim Hill, vice president of marketing. "At ACG, we understand the responsibility inherent in processing and packaging food and pharmaceutical grade calcium sulphate. That's why we have dedicated one of our two grinding facilities to the production of food and pharmaceutical grade calcium sulphate," said Hill. "Our commitment to high-quality standards is unprecedented."

US: USG Corp has reported a surge in profit for the first quarter of 2014, primarily on increased shipments and higher selling prices.

Chief executive officer James Metcalf said, "Despite the harsh winter conditions across most of the US during the first quarter of 2014, we delivered positive operating results and net income."

USG said that its US gypsum wallboard shipments rose to 1.15Bnft² (107Bnm²) from 1.11Bnft² (103Bnm²), while average wallboard prices climbed to US$166.66/1000ft² from US$153.07/1000ft² in 2013. Net sales for the first quarter of 2014 grew to US$850m, up from US$814m in the corresponding quarter of 2013. USG's first quarter profit surged to US$45m from US$2m.