- Written by Maurizio Bellotto, Giovanni Bozzetto S.p.A.
A decrease in overall demand for gypsum wallboard and strong competition among producers over raw materials is pushing the plasterboard industry towards rapid innovation. This innovation is focused in two directions: the first is product innovation, with the appearance of new products like the ultra-lightweight boards, the requirements posed on dimensional stability and creep resistance and the growing concerns about sustainability and environmental compatibility of the manufacturing process and the final product. The other direction is rigid optimisation of the manufacturing process, with a streamlining of operations, a reduction of energy consumption and a better use of raw materials.
Introduction
Both product and process innovation require a thorough reconsideration of the wallboard production equipment and the process. The gains that can be obtained by an equipment upgrade are immediately apparent when we consider that a rebuild and revamping of the dryer may end up with a 25% energy consumption decrease, an increased flexibility to adapt to different raw material sources and an increased quality (e.g. higher flexural strengths) in the finished product.
- Written by Dr Peter Edwards, Global Gypsum Magazine
The British Gypsum Robertsbridge wallboard plant, part of the French building materials giant Saint-Gobain since 2005, is located near the village of Robertsbridge in rural East Sussex. One of the largest employers in the local area, the site has been used for gypsum production for over 100 years, first as a plaster of Paris plant and then as a wallboard site since 1973. Today the site is one of the most flexible wallboard plants in the world, capable of producing 761 different types of board. It has recently undergone remarkable process improvements and is one of the safest in Saint-Gobain.
The Plant Manager of the Robertsbridge plant, Mike Emson, introduced Global Gypsum to the plant and provided an interesting history of the site's near 140-year gypsum production history.
- Written by Dr Peter Edwards, Global Gypsum Magazine
The British Gypsum Brightling mine, near the Robertsbridge wallboard plant in East Sussex, has been in operation since the early 1960s. In the 1970s and 1980s it supplied up to 0.8Mt/yr of gypsum to the Robertsbridge wallboard plant, first via an aerial ropeway system and then a 4.7km-long conveyor, which was installed in 1989.
In the early 1990s the arrival of flue gas desulphurisation gypsum (FGD or DSG), rendered much of the mine's gypsum less desirable for use in wallboard. The mine now predominantly produces 'cement rock', gypsum for the cement industry and operates at only around ~10% of its historical capacity.
The Mine Manager at British Gypsum's Brightling mine is David Partridge. Along with Production Manager David Dunk, he took Global Gypsum on a tour of the Brightling workings, which have been operational for nearly 50 years.
- Written by Dr Peter Edwards, Global Gypsum Magazine
The 29th Eurogypsum Congress of Eurogypsum, the European Gypsum Association, took place at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Kraków, Poland on 10 – 11 May 2012. The event, held under the title, 'Gypsum is at the core of a sustainable and resource-efficient built environment,' was attended by around 85 delegates from Europe and further afield. The Congress heard a variety of presentations from the European Commission, architects, academics and other businesses in the gypsum industry and related areas.
- Written by David Hayes, Special Correspondent
Gypsum board factories with clients in north east Japan have faced unprecedented operational circumstances during the past year following the 11 March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The disaster badly affected the Tohoku region and part of the neighbouring Kanto region, which includes Tokyo. Earthquake damage occurred in an area stretching about 500km north to south from Iwate to Tokyo along the east Japanese coastline and up 10km inland in some areas north of Tokyo. One year on, Special Correspondent David Hayes spoke to Yoshino Gypsum about the 12 months since the disaster.
According to the National Police Agency 15,782 people died and 4086 people were missing (as of 11 September 2011) following the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. The disaster severely damaged or destroyed over 270,000 buildings and caused flooding up to 10km inland, affecting a large number of communities, some of which were completely destroyed. Industrial, commercial and other enterprises in the Tohoku region and adjacent areas have been widely affected, although many have now recovered.
To fund rebuilding of homes, businesses, schools, hospitals and other public facilities, the government has approved two emergency budgets. However, work to rebuild the Tohoku region is likely to take some years to complete and the final cost remains unknown.
For Japan's gypsum wallboard industry the earthquake caused immediate disruption to the production and supply of plaster and plasterboard in the Tohoku region where the country's largest gypsum board manufacturer, Yoshino Gypsum Co Ltd, owns four plants. Fortunately for the company, none of the plants was damaged. However, power cuts, damage to roads and disruption to raw material supplies caused production to be halted at two of Yoshino's plants for a month after the earthquake.