Gypsum industry news

Algeria/India: France-based plaster production unit designer, manufacturer and installer Alphaplatre has announced its successful delivery of two AP400 vertical kilns to gypsum wallboard plants in Algeria and India. It says that each kiln has a capacity of 400t/day of gypsum.

France: Saint-Gobain has launched a game for smartphones and tablets called Saint-Gobain Brain to raise the company’s brand for recruitment. The game combines an exploration of Saint-Gobain’s business environments with the world of online gaming. It is initially available in French and English and will be translated and rolled out in the group's various countries in the course of 2020. The company also using the game to raise money for local charities through in-game donations.

France: Saint-Gobain’s net profit in 2019 was Euro1.45bn, up by 207% year-on-year from Euro474m in 2018. Its net sales were Euro42.6bn, up by 1.9% from Euro41.8bn in 2018. Saint-Gobain chairman CEO Pierre-André de Chalendar praised the year’s performance in spite of a ‘less supportive market environment in the second half.’ He said, “For 2020, in a more uncertain market environment, Saint-Gobain should continue to benefit from its attractive positioning and from the results of its ‘Transform & Grow’ initiative, and is targeting a further like-for-like increase in operating income with an uncertainty about the impact of the coronavirus.”

Algeria: France’s Alphaplatre has delivered an AP400 vertical kiln for a gypsum project in Algeria. The kiln has a plaster capacity of 400t/day. Alphaplatre's work on the project includes supplying equipment for gypsum preparation, calcination, grinding and bagging.

US: France-based Saint-Gobain has announced a 120MW wind power supply deal with Blooming Grove Wind Farm, the largest renewable energy contract in the gypsum wallboard producer’s history. The 12-year contract, which secures 120MW of the available 250MW of power for Saint-Gobain from the wind farm in Illinois, will reduce the company’s US carbon footprint by 21%, it says. “This makes North America a significant contributor in our global network towards helping meet Saint-Gobain’s sustainability goal of net-zero CO_² emissions by 2050,” said Saint-Gobain North America president and CEO Mark Rayfield.

US: Saint-Gobain is preparing to complete its acquisition of Continental Building Products in early February 2020. The announcement follows approval by Continental Building Products’ shareholders for the US$1.4bn deal.

Saint-Gobain said that the purchase of the gypsum wallboard producer would increases its presence in the US with its positioning in growth regions in the East and Southeast US. It would also widen its product portfolio and create the opportunity for at least US$50m in cost synergies and performance improvements by the end of the third year following the close of the transaction.

"This transaction will allow us to become a leading player in plasterboard and construction solutions across North America. It will enable the group to enhance its growth and profitability profile,” said Pierre-André de Chalendar, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Saint-Gobain.

UK: Global not-for-profit organisation CDP has included Saint-Gobain on its Climate Change A-List 2019 for environmental transparency and performance aimed at facilitating a zero-net carbon economy. Only a handful of industrial producers achieved inclusion on the list, including US-based insulation producer OwensCorning and Germany’s HeidelbergCement and steel producer Thyssenkrupp. The company said that the listing commended its ‘ambitious commitment made in 2019 to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, in line with the +1.5°C warming scenarios.’

US: A shareholder in Continental Building Products is taking legal action against the company over its acquisition by France’s Saint-Gobain on 14 October 2019. The claimant alleges that company withheld necessary information from shareholders prior to the transaction, in violation of Securities and Exchange Commission regulations.

UK: Saint-Gobain subsidiary British Gypsum has announced the removal of customer Gyproc gypsum plasterboard allocations with the resumption of normal distribution of its flagship product on order for up to next day delivery. The company said that capacity increases in 2019 solved its supply issue. “The level of effort, innovation and ingenuity that has gone into improving our supply capability has been significant,” said British Gypsum managing director Matt Pullen. “We go into 2020 with renewed confidence and positivity.”

France: Saint-Gobain has entered an agreement with US-based Continental for the acquisition of the latter’s Building Products section at an estimated value of Euro1.4bn. Saint-Gobain stated that the North American plasterboard producer has ‘strong geographic complementary’ with its existing operations in the continent, with a possible gain of Euro45.3m in cost synergies and performance improvements. It also noted Continental Building Products’ good positioning in its Eastern and South-Eastern United States growth regions and strong profitability.