Gypsum industry news

Turkey: Switzerland's Sika has acquired ABC Sealants, a manufacturer of construction sealants and adhesives. The purchase is intended to strengthen Sika's market position in Turkey and to function as a distribution and production hub for the Middle East and Africa. ABC Sealants is based in Istanbul and it operates one manufacturing plant.

Germany: Weig-Karton has started its 'Driven by care' marketing campaign to reposition itself ahead of the 17th Global Gypsum Conference taking place in Poland in October 2017. The initiative originated as part of a process to engage with responsibility concepts for business partners, employees as well as the environment and wider society. It connects to the company's Uniplac plasterboard liner product line and its security of supply. The campaign will be represented by a visual of a globe in the form of two clasped hands.

"As a family-managed company, our thinking and actions are based on dependability, independence and a long-term view. That's why we, as a company group, stand for diligence, reliability and 'taking care of things,' said Michael Balzer, Sales Director at Weig-Karton.

The subsidiary of Weig Group produces its Uniplac line at plants in Germany and Paraguay. Both sites use their own supply of raw material with recycled waste paper.

US: Gypsum Management & Supply, Inc. (GMS), a distributor of gypsum wallboard, suspended ceiling systems and interior construction products, has acquired ASI Building Products, LLC, a provider of ceilings and building products. Both the companies are based in the US. Following the transaction, ASI Building Products majority owner and industry veteran Dave Mayer, along with the entire ASI team, will continue on with GMS going forward.

The acquisition will allow GMS to expand its presence in Michigan, with a portfolio of quality products and reinforces its commitment to customer service.

Peru: The local arm of global building materials manufacturer Eternit has recorded a 39% increase in sales in Peru during the first half of 2017 due to greater sales volumes in many of the company's main lines. This includes gypsum wallboard sales and sales of temporary housing modules to the Peruvian State as part of the government's reconstruction of areas damaged by floods in March 2017. While high prices of plaster and fibreglass benefitted the firm in the first half, Eternit expects prices to fall during the second half of 2017.

US: ACG Materials has acquired Diamond Gypsum, a miner of gypsum products that are sold into various oil and gas, infrastructure and agricultural applications. The company owns and operates a quarry in central Oklahoma. No value for the transaction has been disclosed.

"We are excited to further strengthen our position as the leading industrial mineral and aggregate producer in the Midwest," said Paul Harrington, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ACG Materials. He added that the acquisition expands ACG Materials' presence in the Sooner Trend Anadarko Basin Canadian and Kingfisher Counties (STACK) shale basin.

ACG Materials, a subsidiary of HIG Capital, is based in Norman, Oklahoma. It mines, mills, processes, and distributes industrial minerals and aggregates including gypsum, anhydrite, limestone, sand, gravel and downstream food, pharmaceutical and plaster products.