Gypsum industry news

New Zealand: University of Canterbury (UC) student Andy (Minhong) Park has developed a biocomposite wall panel that uses seaweed or algae as a bio-filler. Preliminary testing indicates the plasterboard-style product offers similar fire performance to other commercially available products. Using seaweed also provides moisture control properties. The finished seaweed plasterboard product has a glossy marble surface, coloured green, red or brown depending on the type of seaweed used.

“Seaweed is fast-growing at 0.5m/day and is capable of sequestering around 173Mt/yr. It’s easy to cultivate and can be farmed offshore, not competing for farmable land with other bio-based materials, making it an attractive, low-cost farming commodity. Because seaweed can absorb carbon underwater, large wall-panel manufacturers could employ seaweed farming as a carbon offset by growing it,” said Park.

The 12 week project was supervised by UC Product Design Senior Lecturer Dr Tim Huber in collaboration with UC Fire Engineering Lecturer Dr Dennis Pau. While still in the early stages of research, design and testing, the team is working with the UC’s Research and Innovation team to develop a commercialisation plan, and Kaiārahi Rangahau Māori to identify suitable species of seaweed for product development and marine agriculture. The project recently won the UC Innovation Jumpstart Greatest Commercial Potential Award and a US$13,000 prize.

Tunisia: Elizabeth Knauf has expressed Knauf’s interest in growing its production capacity for the local market and export. The group president of the board of directors met with Prime Minister Najla Bouden in mid-January 2022, according to the Agence Tunis Afrique Presse. Bouden praised the success of Knauf Tunisia’s training centres at Tataouine and Meknassy (Sidi Bouzid). The group acquired Plâtres Tunisiens in 2004 and operates a plaster plant at Meknassy.

Switzerland: Sika’s sales grew by 17.3% year-on-year to Euro8.96bn in 2021 despite the Covid-19 pandemic and procurement delays for raw materials. Sales increased in all regions with notable growth reported in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, the UK, the US, Latin America and China. The group said that in the Americas a strategic focus on business activities in metropolitan areas, major infrastructure projects and cross-selling helped it. Sika is also currently in the process of buying MBCC Group, a construction chemicals suppler previously known as BASF Construction Chemicals, for Euro2.8bn.

"2021 was expected to be a challenging year and it proved to be a very successful one for Sika. We are benefiting from a number of growth platforms and are in an ideal position to achieve long-term success,” said chief executive officer Thomas Hasler. “We have solutions in place for all the development stages of construction markets, and government supported investment programs running into the billions will provide further impetus for our business.

Thailand: BNBM plans to launch a joint venture with Sinoma International Engineering and its subsidiary Sinoma (Thailand). The new company will build and operate a 40Mm²/yr gypsum wallboard plant in the country. BNBM says that the plant will additionally be equipped with a 4Mm²/yr decorative gypsum line.

Brazil: Saint Gobain has predicted a 40% year-on-year turnover increase from its Brazilian operations to US$2.63bn in 2021. It said that it expects demand for its products from civil construction to have accounted for 67% of its income for the year.

In 2021, Saint-Gobain invested a total of US$52.6m in its Brazilian operations, consisting of 56 sites. It aims to increase its total income by 15% in 2022 compared to 2021 levels. During the year, it plans to commission a new gypsum wallboard plant at Mogi das Cruzes in São Paulo.