Gypsum industry news

Poland: Saint-Gobain has signed a renewable electricity agreement (Power Purchase Agreement) with Tion Renewables AG (currently being renamed from Pacifico Renewables Yield AG), the German wind and solar power producer. The 15-year agreement will run from 2025 and cover around 45% of Saint-Gobain Poland's electricity needs.

"This power supply agreement is an important milestone for Saint-Gobain in Poland. It will contribute to a significant reduction in our CO₂ emissions, in line with the group's commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050' said Joanna Czynsz-Piechowiak, chief executive officer of Saint-Gobain Poland. "It will enable a reduction in CO₂ emissions of 135,000t/yr, i.e. nearly 20% of Saint-Gobain's scope 1 and 2 emissions in Poland.

The PPA foresees the purchase of approximately 190GWh of wind energy annually. This is equivalent to supplying about 100,000 European homes with renewable electricity each year. The total capacity of the wind farms is equivalent to circa 52MW spread over three sites and 20 wind turbines. This announcement illustrates how Saint-Gobain is stepping up the pace on its carbon neutrality roadmap and comes in the wake of the recent endorsement by the Science Based Targets initiative of the group's commitments to reduce CO₂ emissions by 2050.

UK: XPO Logistics, a leading global provider of freight transportation services, has been awarded a multi-year contract renewal by Etex. XPO distributes several hundred thousand tonnes of products for Etex each year in the UK. It uses a dedicated fleet to deliver gypsum wallboard to builders’ merchants and building sites from Etex's manufacturing plants in Bristol and Ferrybridge. It also supports distribution centres in Basildon and Grangemouth. The customised network is managed by XPO teams on-site, and draws on XPO’s wider resources for transport and storage as needed to supplement seasonal fluctuations in demand. Under the new agreement, XPO will remain a single-source provider for transport and on-site logistics management, and will collaborate with Etex to prepare for higher distribution volumes. Etex’s planned significant investment in the Bristol site will increase production and warehousing capacity to support the company’s expansion in the UK.

UK: Knauf has maintained its 'Excellent' rating for BES 6001 Responsible Sourcing of its wallboard, laminated plasterboard and gypsum powder products, a rating that it has held since 2019.

The BES 6001 standard is a means of securing certification to demonstrate through independent, third-party certification, that raw materials for products certified against the scheme have been responsibly sourced and that Knauf manufactures these products in a way that minimises the impact on the environment and natural resources. Knauf said that this was a 'significant achievement,' requiring input from all areas of its business, from procurement and manufacturing activities to distribution to customers.

France: Saint-Gobain and the solar manufacturer Megasol, the European leader in Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV), have announced a strategic partnership. As part of this partnership, Saint- Gobain has acquired a minority stake in Megasol's business unit that develops and manufactures building-integrated photovoltaics in Deitingen, Switzerland. The partnership enables Saint-Gobain to extend its sustainable solutions offer for façades and to become the leading provider for BIPV façade solutions in Europe, one of the fastest growing segments of façade construction. At the same time, it gives Megasol access to Saint-Gobain’s customer base.

BIPV's solutions contribute to sustainable construction and decarbonisation by efficiently producing energy from the surfaces of buildings. Building owners cannot only comply with today’s and future energy regulations and increase their own energy efficiency, but they can also generate additional revenue by feeding the electricity into the grid.

This investment is in line with Saint-Gobain's 'Grow & Impact' plan to further strengthen its leadership position in light and sustainable construction.

France: Alphaplatre's gypsum wallboard and plaster line engineering subsidiary RBL-REI has acquired calcination equipment supplier Gupsos.

RBL-REI general manager Lionel Landreau and Gupsos founder Michel Dairay said "The integration of Gupsos now allows RBL-REI to offer new technologies for its production lines, thanks in particular to the indirect cooking process using a Beau type kiln."