Saudi Arabia: Germany-based Knauf has announced the planned acquisition of a majority stake in United Mining Industries Company (UMI), followed by all other outstanding shares in the company. UMI is a market-leading producer of gypsum products and other building materials domestically and across Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and other Middle Eastern markets. A planned initial investment would give Knauf a 63% majority stake in UMI. After completion of this, Knauf intends to submit an offer to acquire up to 100% of shares in UMI.

Knauf has been active in the Middle East for 30 years. It established its first gypsum wallboard plant regionally at Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, in 2008. Saudi Arabia is a key growth market for the group and a ‘central pillar’ of its regional strategy.

Global: Saint-Gobain has won Top Employers Institute Global Top Employer 2026 certification, marking an 11th consecutive year as a holder of the award. The producer is one of 17 organisations worldwide to achieve the certification in 2026. Certification is based on the Top Employers Institute’s HR Best Practices Survey, comprised of people strategy, work environment, talent acquisition, learning, diversity, equity and inclusion and wellbeing.

US: Germany-based Grenzebach has received an order from American Gypsum Company for the construction of a new wallboard production line at the its Duke, Oklahoma, plant. The new line will expand the Duke plant’s capacity by 25%, while reducing its operating costs by 20%. American Gypsum Company intends for the expansion to help it to meet ‘rising demand’ in its South US and US Sunbelt regions.

Grenzebach will deliver a ‘customised complete plant,’ equipped with natural gypsum drying facilities and two calcination plants, by mid-late 2027. The supplier noted the order as its largest for the building materials sector to date.

“This major project will be implemented across the group, with our locations in North America, Germany, India and Romania working closely together,” said John Corsi, CEO of Grenzebach North America. “A key factor in securing this project was the strong sales cooperation between our Grenzebach Corporation and Millennium Control Systems teams in the US and our centre of competence for Building Materials at Grenzebach BSH in Germany. This international collaboration underscores our expertise and capability as a strong, global operating partner.”

Switzerland: Sika recorded sales of €12.1bn in 2025, down by 5% year-on-year, but up by 1% in local currency terms. The company attributed the currency effect primarily to weakness in the US Dollar. Sales grew by 2% in local currencies in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and by 2% in local currencies in the Americas, but fell by 5% in local currencies in Asia and the Pacific. During 2025, Sika launched its Fast Forward production and organisational optimisation programme, expected to cut costs by €162 – 216m/yr by 2028.

CEO Thomas Hasler said "Despite challenging macro-economic conditions, we achieved modest growth in 2025 and further reinforced our market position. Global markets were soft in the fourth quarter of the year, including US commercial construction trends, which were exacerbated by the government shutdown. Additionally, China saw continued market weakness in the residential building sector. However, our enhanced customer solutions allowed us to maintain pricing discipline and gain market share in every region.” Looking ahead to the rest of 2026, Hasler said “While we currently expect global market conditions to remain muted through the first half of 2026, we enter the year with a leaner cost structure and a clear investment roadmap to accelerate innovation and digitalisation."