Global Gypsum levels its gaze on... the entire world, for a review of global gypsum wallboard production in 2023, on a producer-by-producer basis. This report combines data from the Global Gypsum Directory 2023 with the latest industry news from the columns of Global Gypsum Magazine.
In mid-2023, the world has a gypsum wallboard capacity of 14.3Bnm2/yr across 435 plants. Gypsum wallboard is produced in a total of 72 countries. Figure 1 maps the distribution of gypsum wallboard production capacity around the world. Figure 2, meanwhile, divides national capacities by population size, to map the distribution of capacity per capita.
The leading gypsum wallboard-producing nation, with an installed capacity of 3632Mm2/yr (25% of the global total) across 63 plants, is the US. This is followed by China, with 3205Mm2/yr (22%) across 85 plants - as many as the next seven countries combined. Of these, Japan leads with 775Mm2/yr (5.4%), followed by Russia with 483Mm2/yr (3.4%) and South Korea with 413Mm2/yr (2.9%).
Gypsum wallboard producers
Ownership of global gypsum wallboard production capacity is also unequally distributed. 96 different companies range in the scope of their control from 25% of global capacity (Knauf - 3.63Bnm2/yr) down to less than 0.1% (Crystal Group, FACT-RCF and Perfectum - 1Mm2/yr). Figure 3 (below) compares their relative shares, including between each of the Top 10 producers.
Top 10 producers
Recent years have brought an increasing share of gypsum wallboard capacity ownership under control of a smaller number of large, mostly multinational, producers. Four are based in North America, three in Asia and three in Europe.
1. Knauf
Knauf’s light blue branding is synonymous with gypsum wallboard across many of the 90 markets in which it markets its products globally.1 Perhaps strikingly for a company of its scale, Knauf is a private limited partnership. It has remained Knauf family-owned over nine decades of existence.
Founded: 1932
HQ: Iphofen, Germany
Wallboard capacity: 3.63Bnm2/yr
Turnover (2021):1US$16.8bn
News
Knauf subsidiary Knauf Gypsum Tanzania is in the process of almost tripling its 15Mm2/yr Mkuranga gypsum wallboard plant in Tanzania’ Pwani Region to 43Mm2/yr. The US$49.3m project aims to raise the producer’s Tanzanian export volumes by 170%.
In April 2023, Knauf had concluded preliminary negotiations for the construction of a new gypsum plant in southern Kyrgyzstan, and was studying gypsum deposits in the area.
Romania was the location of Knauf’s previous announcement of a new gypsum wallboard plant. It told press that it planned to invest US$82.8m in an upcoming plant in Huedin, Cluj County, in October 2022. Older plans for a Knauf gypsum wallboard plant at Huedin, first delayed in 2009, consisted of a planned investment of US$76.2m in a 35Mm2/yr-capacity plant.
Knauf has launched its 17Mm2/yr Fergana gypsum wallboard plant, in the region of the same name, in Uzbekistan in mid-2022, investing Euro19m. The plant is also equipped with a dry building mixes line.
The government of Kazakhstan claimed in April 2023 that Knauf will choose Kazakhstan for the future relocation of its Russian business. German press reported that Knauf ‘did not confirm’ any plan to withdraw from the sanctioned state. Investments in the business have been frozen since March 2022. Chair Alexander Knauf accounted for the group’s decision to stay in Russia as a refusal to abandon its 4000 employees there to ‘an uncertain future.’ Knauf derived 10% of its turnover from Russia in 2021.2
2. Beijing New Building Materials
Beijing New Building Materials (BNBM) operates at a similar scale to Knauf, across a smaller geographical footprint. 2.75Bnm2/yr (97%) of its installed capacity is in China, 40Mm2/yr (1.4%) in Uzbekistan, 35Mm2/yr (1.2%) in Egypt and 3Mm2/yr (0.1%) in Tanzania.
Founded: 1984
HQ: Beijing, China
Wallboard capacity: 2.83Bnm2/yr
Wallboard sales, 2022: 2.09Bnm2/yr (-12%)
News
BNBM is set to increase its total number of gypsum wallboard plants to 73 from 71 with the commissioning of upcoming new plants in Thailand and Uzbekistan. A third, 40Mm2/yr, gypsum wallboard plant, belonging to a joint venture of BNBM and Bosnian state-owned energy provider RiTE Ugljevik, is planned for construction in Bosnia-Herzegovina, with a budget of Euro50m.
During 2022, BNBM reported an operating income of US$2.9bn, down by 6% from US$3.07bn in 2021. The producer’s net profit fell by 11% to US$457m from US$511m. It said that domestic demand fell throughout the year due to a contraction in residential construction activity. At the same time, the prices of raw materials and energy rose. BNBM recorded ‘nearly zero emissions’ from all of its gypsum wallboard plants in 2022.
BNBM maintains multiple outright subsidiaries, including Guangdong Province-based Taishan Gypsum, which operates 100Mm2/yr plants at Louyang, Henan Province, and Zouping, Shandong Province, along with 55 other smaller-scale units across 23 provinces of China and in Egypt.
3. Saint-Gobain
Saint-Gobain made its start in glass production in Paris in 1885, but today operates as the quintessential modern building materials conglomerate across a diversity of mostly lightweight products.
Founded: 1665
HQ: Paris, France
Wallboard capacity: 2.72Bnm2/yr
Sales, 2022: US$45.4bn (+23%)
News
Saint-Gobain India plans to make capital expenditure (CAPEX) investments worth US$215m throughout 2023. In the medium term, in addition to CAPEX, it forecast total new acquisitions worth US$144 – 150m between 2022 and 2025. The company aims to achieve sales of US$3.7bn in 2030. The company is expanding all its businesses in the country, including gypsum wallboard, glass, construction chemicals and ceramics.
Saint-Gobain commenced net zero-CO2 gypsum wallboard production at its Fredrikstad plant in Norway in April 2023. The world-first achievement in the gypsum industry followed a Euro27.2m upgrade, which also expanded the plant’s capacity by 40%. The project also switched the plant from natural gas to hydroelectric power and reduced its energy consumption by 30%. The producer says that it will eliminate 23,000t/yr of CO2 emissions. Throughout 2023, Saint-Gobain will continue to launch new gypsum wallboard products at the plant with the lowest carbon footprint on the market. Saint-Gobain is committed to achieving net zero CO2 emissions by 2050, with an interim target of a 33% reduction between 2017 and 2030.
In China, Saint-Gobain is set to commence a capacity expansion project at its Yangzhou gypsum wallboard plant in Jiangsu Province in mid-late 2023, for completion and commissioning in 2024.
Turkish competition authorities approved Saint-Gobain’s merger of local subsidiary Saint-Gobain Rigips with Dalsan Alçi. The companies have a combined gypsum wallboard capacity of
100Mm2/yr. Dalsan Alçi is in the process of acquiring another local gypsum wallboard producer, Manisa Turgutlu.
Saint-Gobain Poland will supply 45% of its power consumption with renewable electricity from 2025 under a wind energy supply contract with Germany-based Tion Renewables. The producer expects the deal to eliminate 135,000t/yr of CO2 emissions from its operations.
4. National Gypsum
National Gypsum is the first of three US-focused gypsum wallboard in the Global Gypsum Top 50 - and Top 10. It is the first of two Top 50 producers named National Gypsum, with the other ranked at number 16 and operating from headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. All-American National Gypsum (US) is a private company and is owned by the Spangler family.
Founded: 1925
HQ: Charlotte, US
Wallboard capacity: 793Mm2/yr
News
National Gypsum affiliate Gold Bond Building Products announced US$90m plans for an upgrade to its Mount Holly gypsum wallboard plant in North Carolina in April 2023. The project includes the installation of a railway line and related infrastructure. Once completed in 2024, the expansion will create 11 new jobs.
5. Georgia-Pacific
Georgia-Pacific’s name signifies its geographical expansion westward during the first half of the 21st century, from its beginnings as a lumber producer in the Southeastern US state
of Georgia.
Founded: 1927
HQ: Atlanta, US
Wallboard capacity: 742Mm2/yr
News
Georgia-Pacific began building a new 65Mm2/yr gypsum wallboard plant at the site of its existing 30Mm2/yr Sweetwater gypsum wallboard plant in Texas in late 2020. The producer opened a new 0.73Mt/yr gypsum quarry to serve the upcoming plant in June 2022.
On 1 March 2023, Georgia-Pacific completed the shutdown of its Quanah gypsum wallboard plant, also in Texas. 166 people had been employed at
the facility before the closure.
6. Etex
A quote featured in Etex’s marketing materials draws on the image of ‘A tree with a strong trunk, which grows new branches every year and where existing branches are becoming stronger.’ The metaphor captures Etex’s expansive activities in recent years, especially in its home continent, Europe, where it is building a new US$187m wallboard plant in Portbury, UK.
Founded: 1905
HQ: Brussels, Belgium
Wallboard capacity:731Mm2/yr
Sales, 2022:US$4.07bn (+25%)
7. Yoshino Gypsum
Yoshino Gypsum shares its name with a grove of red-leaved cherry trees on Mount Yoshino, Nara Prefecture, regarded as sacred since ancient times. While Yoshino Gypsum’s corporate logo is a cherry blossom, consumers in Japan will be more familiar with the Tiger Brand image under which the company sells its gypsum wallboard. Tiger Brand celebrated its centenary in 2022.
Founded: 1927
HQ: Tokyo, Japan
Wallboard capacity: 300Mm2/yr
8. American Gypsum
American Gypsum is growing its operations, with a US$22m upgrade to its Albuquerque gypsum wallboard plant in New Mexico. The producer secured a licence to expand its 336 hectare Eagle gypsum quarry near Gypsum, Colorado, to 376 hectares in late 2021. The expansion will secure its Eagle wallboard plant’s gypsum supply until 2046.
Founded: 1985
Headquarters: Dallas, US
Wallboard capacity: 300Mm2/yr
9. KCC
South Korea’s leading building materials supplier, KCC, is the larger of two gypsum wallboard producers active in its home country, where it competes with Knauf subsidiary Knauf Korea.
Founded: 1958
HQ: Seoul, South Korea
Wallboard capacity: 263Mm2/yr
10. PABCO Gypsum
PABCO Gypsum was founded as Pacific Coast Building Products in 1953. It moved into gypsum wallboard production in 1972 through the acquisition of the Newark gypsum wallboard plant
in California.
Founded: 1953
Headquarters: Tacoma, US
Wallboard capacity: 147Mm2/yr
Other players
Table 3 breaks down global gypsum wallboard capacity for the remainder of the Global Gypsum Top 50 producers (for the Top 10 breakdown, see Figure 3.
Table 1: Global Gypsum Top 50 gypsum wallboard producers, 11 - 50. For the Top 10, see Figure 1. Source: Global Gypsum Directory 2023. Note: Data includes Global Gypsum estimates.
| Producer | HQ | Capacity (Mm2/yr) | Global share (%) | No. of plants | |
| 11 | Jason Plasterboard | China | 120 | 0.8 | 3 |
| 12 | Panel Rey | Mexico | 86 | 0.6 | 3 |
| 13 | Volma Corporation | Russia | 85 | 0.6 | 3 |
| 14 | CSR Gyprock | Australia | 80 | 0.6 | 4 |
| 15 | Holcim | Switzerland | 66 | 0.5 | 3 |
| 16 | National Gypsum | Saudi Arabia | 54 | 0.4 | 2 |
| 17 | Irving Wallboard | Canada | 46 | 0.3 | 1 |
| 18 | Mada Gypsum | Saudi Arabia | 42 | 0.3 | 1 |
| 19 | Gypsemna | Canada | 34 | 0.2 | 1 |
| = | Fletcher Building | New Zeland | 34 | 0.2 | 2 |
| 21 | Fassa Bortolo | Italy | 30 | 0.2 | 1 |
| = | Magma Mordovcement | Russia | 30 | 0.2 | 1 |
| = | Pingyi Baier Building Materials | China | 30 | 0.2 | 1 |
| = | TAOUEB | Algeria | 30 | 0.2 | 1 |
| = | United Mining Industries | Saudi Arabia | 30 | 0.2 | 1 |
| 26 | Technogips | Bulgaria | 27 | 0.2 | 2 |
| 27 | Cabot Gypsum | Canada | 25 | 0.2 | 1 |
| 28 | Tanzania Gypsum | Tanzania | 24 | 0.2 | 3 |
| 29 | Gulf Gypsum Board | Saudi Arabia | 23 | 0.2 | 2 |
| 30 | Aplus Pacific | Indonesia | 21 | 0.1 | 2 |
| 31 | ABS Alçı | Türkiye | 20 | 0.1 | 1 |
| = | Akçansa Çimento | Türkiye | 20 | 0.1 | 1 |
| = | Aytaş Alçı | Türkiye | 20 | 0.1 | 1 |
| = | Fibran | Italy | 20 | 0.1 | 1 |
| = | Global Gypsum Board | Saudi Arabia | 20 | 0.1 | 1 |
| = | Highcity Building | Saudi Arabia | 20 | 0.1 | 1 |
| = | Linyi Feipang | China | 20 | 0.1 | 1 |
| = | Siam-Indo Gypsum | Indonesia | 20 | 0.1 | 1 |
| = | Universal Cement | Taiwan ROC | 20 | 0.1 | 1 |
| 40 | Aswell | Argentina | 16 | 0.1 | 1 |
| = | Trevo Industrial de Gesso | Brazil | 16 | 0.1 | 1 |
| 42 | Aksolit | Russia | 15 | 0.1 | 1 |
| = | Al-Qaseem Gypsum | Saudi Arabia | 15 | 0.1 | 1 |
| = | Atışkan Yapı Ürünleri | Türkiye | 15 | 0.1 | 1 |
| = | BGC Group | Australia | 15 | 0.1 | 1 |
| = | El-Khayyat Gypsum | Saudi Arabia | 15 | 0.1 | 1 |
| = | Gypfor, Gessos Laminados | Portugal | 15 | 0.1 | 1 |
| = | Gyptec Ibérica | Portugal | 15 | 0.1 | 1 |
| = | Interplac | Spain | 15 | 0.1 | 1 |
| = | Onat Alçı | Türkiye | 15 | 0.1 | 1 |
| Producers 51 - 97 | 297 | 2 | 45 |
References
1. Knauf, ‘Start your Career with Knauf,’ January 2022, career.knauf.com/pages/knauf-gypsum-worldwide
2. DW, ‘Is Kazakhstan misleading world on firms fleeing Russia?’ 28 March 2023, www.dw.com/en/is-kazakhstan-misleading-world-on-firms-fleeing-russia/a-65076205
