Gypsum industry news

UK: British Gypsum’s non-loadbearing metal stud plasterboard partition systems, including shaft walls, have become one of the first products on the local market to carry the Code for Construction Product Information (CCPI) mark. The scheme is intended to provide assurance to end users that the product information for these products is clear, accurate, accessible, up-to-date and unambiguous.

The CCPI was initiated by the Construction Product Association (CPA) as a direct response to Judith Hackitt’s review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety set up in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017. The CPA is a UK-based construction industry trade association.

UK: British Gypsum’s Robertsbridge plant has celebrated the 150th anniversary of the discovery of gypsum at the site in East Sussex. To mark the event the company held a family day with a range of activities, according to the Sussex Express newspaper. Tanya Young, the plant manager, said "Our legacy is grounded in this discovery, and it's incredible to see how gypsum remains an essential component in modern construction, proving its enduring value over the years." She added “The majority of our employees are locals, and we're proud to have generations of families who have been a part of the British Gypsum family for decades."

Canada/UK: Canada-based Solex Thermal Science has purchased UK-based Econotherm for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition is intended to expand Solex’s capacity to help its customers reduce the primary energy consumed to produce industrial goods
Lowy Gunnewiek, the chief executive officer at Solex, said “We at Solex are passionate about working with customers to understand their operational needs. Today’s announcement broadens our overall business portfolio to provide our global client base with an even deeper suite of best-in-class, sustainable solutions that align with their respective environmental, social and governance strategies.”

Solex Thermal Science sells indirect heat exchange products for the heating, cooling and drying of free-flowing granular materials such as solid granules, pellets, beans, seeds and particles. Since 1989 the company has installed more than 900 heat exchangers in more than 50 countries worldwide with applications such as fertiliser, oilseeds and industrial materials such as minerals, sands, chemicals and polymers. More recently it has expanded into the energy-transition sector with collaborations on decarbonisation applications such as industrial waste heat recovery, concentrated solar power and carbon capture.

Econotherm manufactures heat pipe waste heat recuperators, economisers, pre-heaters, steam generators and steam condensers. The company’s patented super conductor heat pipe technology is used in a wide range of applications across many industrial sectors. Its references include supplying a gas to air heat pre-heater on a gypsum kettle exhaust to British Gypsum.

UK: Knauf UK and Ireland has appointed Paul Campbell as its Commercial Director. He will be responsible for the strategic development of supply chains, customer support, marketing and technical functions. Campbell previously worked for British Gypsum for over 10 years in product management and marketing roles before becoming the Marketing & Technical Director, UK & Ireland at BMI Group in 2019.

UK: British Gypsum has started converting its heavy-good vehicle fleet fuel source to the biofuel Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) from diesel. The subsidiary of France-based Saint-Gobain expects to use 75,000l/week of HVO. This means that around 40% of its UK fleet will now operate on HVO fuel, with a further 10% using Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). The use of multi-fuelled vehicles at this scale is expected to reduce its carbon emissions by approximately 70% year-on-year.

To support the implementation of HVO vehicles, the company has made several upgrades to site infrastructure that include a HVO refuelling point at its Robertsbridge plant and a new fuel island capable of delivering 110,000l/week at its distribution centre in Gotham.

UK: The European Space Agency, University of Glasgow and others are using France-based Saint-Gobain's Bantycock, Nottinghamshire, quarry to test new drill bit designs for their Drill for Extensive Exploration of Planetary Environments Using Robots (DEEPER) project. The project aims to develop tens-of-metres-long spoolable drill 'strings' to help in the search for water on Mars. Researchers will use their prototypes to drill directly into the mine's gypsum deposits. Saint-Gobain said that the hydrated mineral gypsum provides a similar geological profile to that of Mars.

Gypsum wallboard production by Saint-Gobain subsidiary British Gypsum at its nearby Barrow upon Soar, Leicestershire, and East Leake, Nottinghamshire, gypsum wallboard plants relies on Bantycock gypsum.

UK: Saint-Gobain has brought its British Gypsum, Celotex and Isover gypsum wallboard and insulation brands together under the Saint-Gobain Interior Solutions portfolio. The marketing labelling is intended to allow customers to access products, solutions and services.

Dean O’Sullivan, the managing director of Saint-Gobain Interior Solutions, said “This collective three-brand approach allows customers to access the know-how and expertise of each brand in one place, through our dedicated sector and sales teams. This will bring a range of benefits to our customers, allowing us to provide even better support, with even simpler access to our market-leading systems and products.” He added, ”Each brand continues to play an important part, but by having a single point of contact and sector specific teams, we are confident our customers will realise the strength in collaboration and solutions that ultimately help them meet their needs for outstanding performance, longevity and value.”

UK: Freight transportation services provider XPO Logistics has started taking delivery of 76 Volvo FM trucks that will be used exclusively on the company's contract with British Gypsum. 23 of the tractor units are Volvo FM LNG models running on bio-generated liquefied natural gas. The other 53 Volvo FM trucks will be fuelled with hydrotreated vegetable oil. The vehicles are expected to reduce their greenhouse gases emissions by 90% compared to diesel tractors giving a total network reduction of 30%.

Brian Fisher, Head of Distribution at British Gypsum, said "Our new fleet of vehicles underlines our commitment to ensuring that our products are delivered to customers in an efficient, secure, safe and sustainable way, whilst further improving welfare standards for our drivers. The latest investment signifies yet more progress as we continue on our journey to being net carbon zero by 2050 and highlights our continued commitment to the Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS) and Construction Logistics and Community Safety (CLOCS) status."

The Volvo trucks will form part of British Gypsum's single, integrated transportation network, digitally managed by XPO. They will deliver building supplies to a broad customer base and will transport stock and materials including plaster, wallboard and high-performance drylining systems – between British Gypsum's five production plants. The Volvo FM LNG trucks will refuel at Gasrec's site at Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal.

UK: British Gypsum has signed the Building a Safer Future (BSF) charter as part of its wider commitment to raise building standards across the construction industry and provide transparency to its customers. The charter comprises five commitments that require registered signatories to put building safety first. The commitments include spearheading change and being the voice of building safety within the industry, being transparent in sharing key information with residents, clients, contractors and other stakeholders, and making safety a key factor when selecting construction partners.

Marketing director Stacey Temprell said “We recognise that becoming a registered signatory of the BSF charter is an important first step towards achieving the culture and behavioural change required in relation to the charter’s objectives around building safety. In confirming our support as a registered signatory, we will now be working to ensure that we embed the principles of the charter into our organisation’s activities.” Temprell added “In addition to signing the Building a Safer Future charter, we are making further improvements to ensure our product and system performance data is always up to date and accurate, so joining like-minded businesses in signing the Charter is a great way for us to demonstrate our commitment to this shift in building standards and put safety first.”

UK: Matt Pullen, the managing director of British Gypsum, says that the company intends to loosen restrictions on wallboard sales in August 2020. “Whilst we continue to see high levels of demand, we have sufficient capacity to supply your wallboard requirements without formal supply restrictions,” said Pullen. He added that the company’s plaster manufacturing plants continue to, ‘operate consistently at maximum capability.’

Gypsum plaster-based products have been in short supply in the UK since the local coronavirus-related lockdown started in March 2020. The subsidiary of Saint-Gobain suspended operations in April 2020 and Knauf stopped production at its wallboard plants in the UK at the end of March 2020. British Gypsum reported in late May 2020 that its wallboard capacity was at ‘approximately’ 80% of pre-coronavirus pandemic levels following the scaling up of its ‘Covid-19 safe’ operations and distribution plan. Etex’s Siniat said it was ending product allocation controls in early July 2020.