Gypsum industry news

Belgium: Etex has announced the addition of Caroline Thijssen, Guillaume Voortman and its CEO Paul Van Oyen to its Board of Directors. In addition, Marc Nolet de Brauwere, Amaury Pelgrims de Bigard and Philium bvba, represented by Philippe Coens, have left the board.

Caroline Thijssen is Head of Talent Banking and Management Dynamics at BNP Paribas Fortis. She gained a Master's degree in Economics and Management at the UCL, Université catholique de Louvain. She started her career in the financial world at BNP Paribas Fortis, with a two-year international management traineeship. Then, she fulfilled the roles of Deputy Branch Manager, Branch Manager and Group Branch Manager, before joining the HR department. She became a member of Etex's Board of Directors on 27 May 2015.

Guillaume Voortman is Head of Finance and Administration at Tropicore — a trading company for tropical commodities, such as rubber. He holds a Master's degree in Applied Economics and Management, which he obtained at the Facultés Universitaires Saint-Louis in Brussels and the UCL. He also gained an Advanced Master's degree in Financial Economics at the KU Leuven University. He began his career as equity trader at ING Bank Belgium. Afterwards, he moved to ING Bank Netherlands as Associate Relationship Manager, before joining Tropicore. He entered Etex's Board of Directors on 27 May 2015.

Paul Van Oyen has been attending the Board meetings since he was appointed CEO of Etex on 1 January 2015. On 27 May, he became a member of the Board in the role of Managing Director.

South Africa: Belgium's Etex Group has announced the acquisition of Lafarge's South African gypsum business. An Etex press release stated that Lafarge Gypsum South Africa and its local company Marley Building Systems, two businesses of equal size, will team up to create a 'unique and competitive offer that capitalises on today's Southern African building trends.'

The deal is in line with Etex's aims of strengthening its position in Africa, with the Southern African region and Nigeria its main drivers of growth. In South Africa, the demand for housing has been on the rise, driven by a growing population and an emerging middle class. In addition, the market is becoming increasingly regulated. Consequently, alternative building methods like dry construction are gradually replacing traditional construction methods.

"Combining these two product offerings enables us to provide the full scope of Etex's portfolio," said Paul van Oyen, CEO of Etex. "That way, we can answer the changing local demand with a global approach for the whole southern African market, including South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Mozambique."

For factory personnel, Etex has said that everything will remain as it is. Meanwhile, the support teams at Marley will be strengthened by teams from Lafarge Gypsum. "Lafarge Gypsum (adds) the technical and innovation support an international group can offer," added van Oyen. A transition team will ensure the smooth merger of both companies once the deal has been finalised. The acquisition is subject to the customary closing conditions.

Romania: According to News website ZF English, Siniat Romania, part of Belgium's Etex Group, has completed the construction of its Euro50m, greenfield wallboard plant in the southern city of Turceni.

Peru: Etex's Eternit aims to double Peru's demand for wallboard construction systems, having invested some US$35m in its new, modern plant on the Huarochiri industrial estate in Lima, which was inaugurated recently.

The new plant will produce 12.2Mm²/yr of wallboard. National demand for wallboard in Peru is 10Mm²/yr, although this segment is growing at an estimated annual rate of 20%/yr. Eternit is already looking at a first expansion in 2020. The company will now focus on the residential sector, where there is huge potential for growth. Consumption of wallboard systems per capita ranges between 6m² and 8m² in developed countries, compared to 2.8m² in Chile, 0.6m² in Colombia and <0.3m² in Peru. Eternit aims to double this figure by 2018 or 2019. Currently, excess wallboard production from Peru is exported to Ecuador and northern Chile, where there is higher wallboard demand.

Colombia: Etex has appointed Agustin Cozzi as the top manager in Gyplac, a manufacturer of plasterboards based in Cartagena. The change follows the retirement of Felipe Montes after 23 years as head of Skinco Colombit. Mauricio Lopez, who was previously a manager at Gyplac, has become the top manager of Skinco Colombit, a firm with a factory for fibre cement products in Manizales. Miguel Fernando Rangel has been appointed as Etex's new top manager at the helm of Ceramica San Lorenzo, a manufacturer of floor and wall tiles in Sopo.

Belgium: Etex Group has reported a 1.9% year-on-year drop in sales revenue to Euro3bn in 2014. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 11.6% to Euro226m from Euro234m. It attributed the decline to a poor second half, which was hit by a slowdown in public and private investments, poor exchange rates in South America, slowing growth in emerging markets and recession-like conditions elsewhere.

In its outlook Etex anticipates that cyclic fluctuations will continue to appear in all of its markets throughout 2015. Emerging markets are expected to show minor growth, while the fundamental situation in Europe, and particularly in France, needs to improve further. "Overall results are expected to be stable", says Paul Van Oyen, CEO of Etex.

Belgium: Etex has announced that from 1 January 2015, a new leader will take the helm. Fons Peeters, the current CEO of Etex, will retire at the end of 2014 after 41 years with Etex, the last four of which he was CEO. Paul Van Oyen, currently the head of the Promat Division, will take over his role.

"On behalf of the board of directors, I would like to thank Fons Peeters for his immense dedication during his long career at Etex," said chairman of the board, Jean-Louis de Cartier de Marchienne. "His exceptional guidance proved to be an important added value for our company and ought to be an inspiration to all of us, since he helped to shape Etex as we know it today."

On 1 January 2015 Paul Van Oyen will take up the position. Before joining Etex, he worked for several years as a researcher and technologist. His career at Etex spans 24 years, during which period he gained both expertise and experience in different regions and different divisions of the company. Business development manager and head of the Eastern European business are some of his past roles. He has been developing Promat, Etex's high-performance insulation and passive fire protection division, since 2011. Paul Van Oyen has been appointed until the end of 2021 with the mission of pursuing further Etex's ambitious long-term strategy, which focuses on both internal and external growth.

"In order to trigger organic growth, Etex will maintain its capital expenditure programme with yearly investments of about Euro200m," said Jean-Louis de Cartier de Marchienne. "At the same time, the group will further reduce its debt, aiming at a debt ratio below two, which should open up future growth possibilities. In light of these ambitious plans, the board of directors and Etex's 17,500 employees wish Paul Van Oyen every success in guiding Etex on a path of continuous growth."

Peru: Wallboard producer Eternit, which is owned by Etex, will inaugurate its 12,000Mm²/yr capacity wallboard plant under the Gyplac brand in Huarochiri, Peru, in March 2015. Investments in the new infrastructure have reached the US$33m. Eternit sees opportunities in the residential segment, while any excess production will be exported to Ecuador, Bolivia and Central America.

All Eternit operations will be concentrated in Huarochiri by 2019. Gyplac wallboard sales are expected to grow by 20%. Eternit company sales of more than US$210m are projected in Peru during 2014, 8% more than in 2013. Revenues are expected to double in the next five years. Other product lines could be incorporated from 2018 if operations prove to be successful. Eternit, which controls 45% of the Peruvian wallboard market, is introducing Equitone and Promat products as well.

Brazil: Etex has started the construction of a new wallboard plant in Santa Cruz, Rio de Janeiro with an investment of Euro60m. The plant will open in mid-2015.

"The investment enables Etex to expand its footprint in Latin America, an emerging market of strategic importance. Brazil plays a leading role in the economic development of the region. The country's wallboard market is growing rapidly, at twice the rate of the construction industry,'' said Fons Peeters, Etex's CEO.

Construction work for the new plant started on 31 March 2014. An estimated 150 employees will manufacture three types of high-performance wallboard: standard, humidity-resistant and fire-resistant. The plant will serve markets in the south and southeast regions of Brazil. The new plant will be Etex's third wallboard production facility in the country joining its existing plants in Pernambuco state.

UK: Siniat has invested more than Euro300,000 in the construction of a new laboratory facility at its manufacturing plant in Portbury, Somerset.

The lab provides a high-specification environment for Siniat's production, maintenance and quality assurance teams and has enabled it to consolidate all three functions, which were previously based in different parts of the site, in one central, integrated location at the heart of the plant. Construction work began in May 2013 and is now complete, with the lab fully operational.

The facility will also act as an area where Siniat can welcome customers and other visitors to discuss its latest innovations and demonstrate key product performance capabilities such as fire and water resistance.

The project is just one step in a long-term vision for improving the site, says Stephane Mettavant, Plant Manager. "We've embarked on an ambitious programme of change for our Bristol plant since becoming Siniat (in October 2012). It's focused on improving facilities for our customers and our employees and creating an environment in which we can share our expertise."

"The programme has already delivered tangible results and helped us to streamline our processes throughout the plant," said Mettavant. "We have been successful in reducing the number of customer complaints we receive to industry-leading levels and the new lab represents the next stage of reinforcing that quality assurance.

Siniat was formerly known as Lafarge Plasterboard. It was acquired from Lafarge by Belgium's Etex group at the end of 2011 and began trading as Siniat in October 2012.