US: Continental Building Products says that its Buchanan gypsum wallboard plant in New York state has reopened at full capacity. The unit shut in January 2019 following a ‘significant’ equipment malfunction. Continental's plants in Silver Grove, Kentucky and Palatka, Florida increased their production to offset a portion of Buchanan's lost volumes.

China: Wengu Chemicals plans to build a 10Mm²/yr wallboard production line at its gypsum plaster plant in Guizhou province. It plans to commission the new line by the end of 2019, according to CCM. The company has stockpiled over 38Mt of phosphogypsum in the province. It is using this to produce a variety of gypsum products.

Germany: Wacker’s silicones division has driven its sales growth in 2018 despite a contraction in the polysilicon market. Its group sales rose by 1% year-on-year to Euro4.98bn in 2018 from Euro4.92bn in 2017. Its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 8% to Euro930m from Euro1.01bn. It blamed this on issues at its Charleston plant in the US, an on-going insurance claim and higher raw material and energy costs.

“From today’s perspective, 2019 is not going to be an easy year,” said chief executive officer Rudolf Staudigl. “For our chemical divisions, we are confident that our excellent products will keep us on our growth path. On the other hand, solar-grade polysilicon overcapacities in China are slowing the earnings trend at our polysilicon business – and thus at the group – despite our leading market and quality position.” He added that a ‘particular’ challenge facing energy-intensive companies like Wacker was the increase in electricity prices in Germany.

Saudi Arabia: National Gypsum Company ‘s sales rose by 40% year-on-year to US$16.3m in 2018 from US$11.7m in 2017. Its net profit after Zakat and tax was US$3.01m following a loss of US$4.38m in 2017. The company attributed its turnabout to increased sales, external investment and changes in its accounting.