Gypsum industry news
Germany: The European Commission has approved Euro33m investment aid to Hamburger Rieger. It designated the aid as being in line with European Union (EU) state aid rules, in particular the Guidelines on Regional State Aid for 2014 -2020, because it furthers regional development without unduly distorting competition in the single market. The German producer of paper and plasterboard liner has plans to invest Euro363m to upgrade its paper production capacity by setting up a new stock preparation process and building an additional paper machine in its plant in Spremberg.
"It's important that public investments foster economic growth in disadvantaged regions in Europe. We have carefully assessed the project. The investment aid to Hamburger Rieger will further develop the region without distorting competition and will help bringing truly innovative production processes to market," said EU Commissioner in charge of competition policy Margrethe Vestager.
Jochen Fabritius appointed new CEO of the Xella Group
15 February 2016Germany: Jochen Fabritius has been appointed with shareholder approval as the new CEO of the Xella Group with effect from 1 March 2016. Fabritius has been on the management board of the Xella Group since 1 November 2014 in his role as Chief Operation Officer (COO). He will remain COO and also retain responsibility for the technology division in his new role.
Fabritius succeeds Jan Buck-Emden, who left the company in October 2015. Since then, the company has been jointly managed by Dr Jochen Fabritius and CFO Jürgen Wiecha.
The Xella Group produces and markets building materials, gypsum fibreboards and cement-bonded and fire protection boards and lime. In 2014 Xella generated sales of approximately Euor1.27bn with a workforce of 6686. The company is indirectly owned by private equity companies PAI Partners and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners.
Knauf International GmbH to acquire Gyptec assets
28 August 2015Colombia/Germany: Knauf International GmbH has announced that a definitive agreement has been signed with Gyptec, a Colombian wallboard producer, to acquire the assets of the company. As well as in Colombia, Gyptec has interests in Venezuela, Ecuador and Central America. The transaction also includes Hanetec, a supplier of building products associated with wallboards.
Serge Azaïs, member of the Knauf Management Committee in charge of South America, said, "It is a very significant move for our group to be part of the development of the northern part of South America, after our industrial presence for 15 years in Brazil and Argentina. We are extremely confident of the potential of this zone. We will very shortly increase capacity in order to deliver to Central America and the Caribbean countries from the facility in Cartagena. We look forward to welcoming the Colombian team into the Knauf family."
Germany: Schenck has launched the AccuRate DMO Weighfeeder, which is suitable for weighing and feeding up to 500t/hr. According to Schenck, it is the perfect solution for a variety of heavy-duty industrial applications.
The drive system, with reducer and motor, are all directly mounted on the head pulley shaft reducing the need for alignments and maintenance. At the heart of the DMO is a direct multi-cell weighing system that does not use levers or counterbalance weights. This reduces any chance of error during the weighing process. The DMO comes in standard belt widths of 70 – 137cm with feed rate accuracies of ±0.5% over a 10:1 range. These rates are achievable in a range of material particle sizes up to 10cm lumps.
Germany: Wacker, the German chemical company, has reorganised its distribution network for silicone and polymer products in central and eastern Europe.
As part of a regional optimisation process, the existing partners IMCD, Euro-Him-1, Hellermann, Radka, Revada and Variachem will be entrusted with the distribution of Wacker's product range for silicones and polymers. Effective from 1 July 2014, these partners will replace the previous distribution partner Brenntag CEE.
IMCD, Euro-Him-1, Hellermann, Radka, Revada and Variachem already distribute products from the group's silicones and polymers portfolio in different regions. As part of the reorganisation of the distribution network in central and eastern Europe, Wacker is further extending these partnerships.
Germany/Austria: Austria based Prinzhorn Holding, a family-owned company with headquarters in Wiener Neudorf near Vienna, Austria has confirmed the takeover of the papermill Fritz Peters GmbH & Co KG. At the location in Gelsenkirchen, around 140 workers manufacture a total of 205,000t/yr of corrugated board and plasterboard liner. It has been agreed that the purchase price will remain confidential.
Located in the middle of the Ruhr region, the Peters papermill has developed into a local market leader over the past few years. The plant specialises in the production of packaging paper and technical specialty paper (such as white and brown testliner), as well as plasterboard liner. All paper products are manufactured using 100% recycled paper. The Peters papermill's annual tonnage has more than tripled since it was founded in 1972.
"We expect to see numerous synergies stemming from the integration of the plant in Gelsenkirchen with the group's other German production locations," Cord Prinzhorn, the CEO and owner's representative for Prinzhorn Holding, explained. "Our plans for Gelsenkirchen include extensive measures to increase efficiency and capacity. The new location in the heart of Germany will enable us to meaningfully optimise transport routes to our clients. The takeover is a result of our long-term expansion strategy for the future as well as our integrated production strategy, from recycling the raw material paper to producing high-quality packaging", said Cord Prinzhorn.
The approval of trade authorities is necessary for the conclusion of the purchase. Prinzhorn Holding and the seller have agreed to keep all other details about the purchase confidential.
Hamburger Rieger is part of the Hamburger Containerboard Division of the Austria-based Prinzhorn Holding. Until now, Hamburger Rieger has been producing high-quality corrugated board at two locations in Germany – Spremberg in Brandenburg and Trostberg in Bavaria. The product lines RiegerLiner, RiegerTop, and SpreeWhite have transformed the company into a leader in quality for the white covered quality papers market segment. With 1.8Mt/yr, Hamburger Containerboard is one of the leading producers of high-quality containerboard in Europe. Hamburger Containerboard papers are made exclusively out of recycled paper.
Germany: Saint-Gobain has been certified for the seventh time in a row as a top employer in Germany for its outstanding employee offerings, by the Netherlands-based Top Employers Institute, which recognises leading employers around the world.
The participating companies were SG Glass, SG Sekurit, SG Performance Plastics Pampus, SG Weber, SG Isover and SG Informations Systems. The best results were achieved in the categories 'secondary benefits' and 'culture management,' in which Saint-Gobain was among the top 10 of the 125 certified companies. Furthermore, the companies named above achieved the Top Employers Europe 2014 certification, as they had also been certified in various countries in Europe.
Reinhard Runte, HR director of Saint-Gobain in Germany and Austria and HR managing director for SG Glass Deutschland, accepted the award in the name of all participating companies on 6 March 2014 in Dusseldorf. "I am very happy about receiving this award again and also a little proud as it shows that, despite the increasing standards set by the Institute, we could improve our performance."
Wacker expands presence in Latin America
08 November 2012Germany/Brazil/Mexico: Wacker Chemie AG, the Munich-based gypsum additive producer, is extending its existing technical centre in São Paulo, Brazil, and creating a new technical centre in Mexico City, Mexico. The company will also expand its training centre in São Paulo and open a new one in Mexico City. Both projects have a combined investment of Euro1.2m and are scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2013.
"Central and South America are key future markets for Wacker. Our sales in these regions have grown by an annual average of 15% over the past five years," said president and CEO Dr Rudolf Staudigl.
Germany: Scientists have observed tailor-made specialist micro-organisms directly 'feeding' on CO2-containing flue gases from lignite-fired power stations, in what is being described as a 'very promising' initial result of a research project run by RWE Power and Brain AG. The research may have interesting implications for the gypsum industry, which already uses desulphurised flue gas.
The joint project, which has been running since January 2010, aims to convert CO2 into biomass or directly into secondary raw materials with the help of micro-organisms bred to explore innovative CO2 conversion and synthesis pathways. The ultimate aims of the project are to produce industrially-usable products. These are likely to include insulation and construction materials.
"Our pioneering work in the search for biotechnological CO2 conversion solutions bears first fruit," said Dr Johannes Heithoff, head of research and development at RWE Power. "We continue to lead the efforts to protect the climate."
The work is being carried out at the Coal Innovation Centre located at the Niederaussem power plant, which hopes to produce scaleable solutions to reducing emissions from coal-fired power stations. If such solutions can be found, the gypsum industry may find that desulphurisation of flue-gas moves into competition with the production of insulation materials or other chemicals.