Gypsum industry news

Turkmenistan: The government has announced plans for the construction of a 50,000t/yr calcite plant at Koytendag in Lebap region. Orient News has reported that calcite from the plant will supply regional gypsum wallboard production, which was 4Mm2 in 2021.

Belgium: Etex has donated five sustainable modular housing units to families dispossessed by flooding in the summer of 2021. The company built the houses at Rochefort and Pepinster in two weeks and their assembly took 48 hours. Etex said that it plans to develop the construction method in future in order to meet needs and new trends in the housing sector.

Bernard Delvaux, chief executive officer of Etex said “It was important for us to donate our expertise through these five houses built in a circular way with a very low carbon footprint. Our modular construction technologies meet multiple housing needs around the world with the fast construction of affordable, well-insulated, high-quality and attractive living spaces.”

Belgium: Saint-Gobain has appeared on climate charity CDP’s Climate Change A List 2021. The producer says that the listing recognises its environmental ambition and transparency. It has taken ‘significant and demonstrable action,’ including allocating Euro100m/yr until 2030 in capital expenditure and research and development funding to reduce CO₂ emissions. It employs an internal carbon
price for investment decisions, which has risen by 50% to Euro75/t for capital expenditure. For research and development, it is Euro150/t.

Senior vice president human resources and corporate social responsibility Claire Pedini said “This is a recognition of the progress made and the commitment of the group with regard to the fight against climate change. Saint-Gobain is a key player in this respect and demonstrates at all levels its leadership and responsibility: maximising the positive impact for our customers thanks to our solutions, whilst minimising our own footprint as part of our commitment to be carbon neutral by 2050.”

US: Saint-Gobain has agreed to buy construction chemicals producer GCP Applied Technologies. Reuters News has reported that the move continues Saint-Gobain’s industrial diversification, as it also seeks to maximise its growth opportunities from the US’s on-going infrastructure overhaul. Saint-Gobain expects to conclude the deal by 2023 and will finance the acquisition through cash on its balance sheet.

Chief executive officer Benoit Bazin said “After the successful acquisition of Chryso, GCP is the logical next step to expand Saint-Gobain's presence in admixtures and additives, which provide key solutions to de-carbonise the construction industry.” He added “This acquisition is a decisive step in establishing Saint-Gobain's leading position worldwide in construction chemicals, with total sales of more than US$4.51bn [combined], up from US$3.39bn.”

US: Canada-based Building materials recycling equipment supplier TORXX Kinetic Pulverizer has launched TORXX Kinetic, a new wholly owned subsidiary. The company’s headquarters are in Chattanooga, Tennessee. TORXX Kinetic Pulverizer chose the location in order to be closer to its customer base.

Vice president Terri Ward said that in 2021 “Covid-19 pandemic-related travel restrictions hindered growth, with our North American headquarters in Canada and most of our customers and new opportunities in the US.” Ward continued “We are maintaining a presence in Toronto with engineering and service resources. However, key personnel and new hires are now in the US, making it much easier to collaborate and respond to customer needs. We were attracted to the Scenic City because of its favourable manufacturing and transportation resources, proximity to our customers, and its appeal to our valued employees.”

TORXX Kinetic Pulverizer’s kinetic pulveriser is a waste processing technology which relies on aerodynamics and matter-on-matter collisions for particle size reduction. Vortices agitate feedstock, causing more brittle material to shatter while less brittle material remains larger. This size differential facilitates the liberation and mechanical separation of contaminants.