Gypsum industry news

Indonesia: Semen Baturaja has signed a memorandum of understanding with Huadian Buket Asam Power. Under the agreement, Semen Baturaja will supply the power company with limestone for its flue gas desulfurisation (FGD) process in exchange for gypsum, fly ash and bottom ash. The agreement will last for two years until March 2023.

The cement producer’s managing director Sumsal Saifudin said “This collaboration is a form of synergy between the two companies to improve competitiveness, which is much-needed in facing an increasingly competitive industrial environment, by taking advantage of opportunities for the creation of new revenue streams and cost transformation.”

US: Data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) shows that national natural gypsum production was 20.5Mt in the US in 2020, down by 5% year-on-year from 21.5Mt in 2019. Synthetic gypsum production remained constant at 14.4Mt and calcined gypsum production fell by 2% to 17.2Mt from 17.5Mt. Crude gypsum exports fell by 13% to 32,200t from 37,000t and calcined gypsum exports fell by 21% to 89,400t from 113,000t.

Domestic calcined gypsum consumption totalled 17.2Mt, down by 1% from 17.4Mt. Calcined gypsum imports rose by 8% to 29,000Mt from 26,900Mt. Crude gypsum consumption also fell, by 3% to 40.9Mt from 42.0Mt. Crude gypsum imports fell by 2% to 6.03Mt from 6.14Mt. Mexico overtook Spain as the leading exporter of crude gypsum to the US in 2020.

US: GMS recorded consolidated net sales of US$2.47bn in the first nine months of its 2021 financial year that ended on 31 January 2021, up by 4% year-on-year from US$2.37bn in the corresponding period of 2019. Costs of sales fell by 4% to US$1.60bn from US$1.66bn. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell slightly in the third quarter of the 2021 financial year to US$62.6m from US$62.7m in the third quarter of the 2020 financial year. Third-quarter wallboard volumes grew by under 1% and wallboard prices fell by 2%, resulting in a 1% sales decline.

President and chief executive officer John Turner said, “As a result of our team’s ability to seize opportunities and address challenges in dynamic market conditions, we delivered better than expected sales, higher net income and an improved adjusted EBITDA margin in the third quarter of the 2021 financial year. We continued to realise benefits from our on-going commitment to our strategic priorities: expanding share in core products, growing our complementary other products offering, platform expansion and improved productivity and profitability. During the quarter, we generated higher volume in wallboard, increased sales of complementary products and opened our Waco, Texas greenfield location.” He added, “We are excited to be celebrating GMS’s 50th anniversary in 2021, and I am confident that our focus on our strategic priorities and our team’s continued drive to execute will position us to generate value for our shareholders well into the future.”

Spain: France-based Saint-Gobain has announced plans for a new Euro40m production line at its Quinto gypsum wallboard plant near Zaragosa, Aragon. The line will integrate recycled raw materials use and an Industry 4.0 digitisation programme to increase production, warehousing, transport and delivery automation.The scheduled commissioning date for the expanded facility is in 2022. When operational, the line will generate 70 new direct jobs. The government of Aragon has declared the work a project of regional interest.

The group says that the new line will enable it to capture the growth of the Spanish market and its rapid shift towards more complex needs and especially more lightweight construction systems.

UK: Durham County Council has granted Agricore permanent permission for its Hill Top Farm gypsum wallboard recycling plant near Darlington, County Durham. The Darlington and Stockton Times newspaper has reported that the gypsum producer had previously held permission on a five-year basis.

Locals in the rural former coal mining area had appealed against the application. Many of the 110 complainants claimed that heavy traffic had rendered a local lane dangerous to walk and cycle on. Agricore sells gypsum to local farmers for use as fertiliser.

The county council required that the company submit plans for a power supply transition from diesel generators to ‘a more sustainable alternative’ before 3 September 2020.