Gypsum industry news

India: FRBPL, a joint venture of Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Limited (FACT) and Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers Limited (RCF), has launched the world's largest load-bearing gypsum wallboard panels, which measure 12m x 3m and 124mm thick. The panels are lightweight and waterproof. According to Ananth Kumar, the Union minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers, the panels could revolutionise India's infrastructure sector.

India/Oman: UltraTech Cement Middle East Investments, a wholly owned subsidiary of India's UltraTech Cement, has acquired a majority stake (51%) in Omani gypsum mining firm Awam Minerals LLC.

Awam Minerals has a license to mine substantial gypsum deposits in the south of Oman. It's gypsum mining license will serve as a captive mine for the network of cement plants owned by UltraTech Cement in India, two grinding units and a cement plant in the UAE, as well as a grinding unit in Bahrain through its Middle East subsidiary.

India: The Haryana State government has prepared a contingency crop plan and has sought financial assistance as well as bonus on paddy and other kharif crops from the central government. Chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said that the plan was formulated in consultation with CCS Haryana Agriculture University, Hisar. Hooda said that the State government has urged the central government to award an additional allocation of US$1.68m for gypsum during the current financial year.

India: Gypsum producer FCI Aravali Gypsum and Minerals India Ltd (FAGMIL) has announced profits of US$8.74m in 2013 – 2014, up from US$2.64m in 2009 – 2010.

India: The government of Telangana State will supply gypsum to farmers at a 50% subsidy. Telangana Markfed and AP Agros have been selected as the nodal agencies to supply the gypsum. The subsidy portion would be met from normal State plan, National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture and the National Food Security Mission (NFSM) programmes.

India: Gypsum consumption in India is anticipated to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 4% during 2012 – 2018 according to the latest market reports. The growing demand for gypsum, due to the amplified construction activity, high cement consumption and extensive use of gypsum in fertilisers and ceramic products, has resulted in escalating gypsum consumption.

India: Engineering firm Pennar Industries Ltd has announced that its subsidiaries, Pennar Engineered Building Systems (PEBS Pennar) and Pennar Enviro Ltd (PEL), have received US$17.5m of orders, including a gypsum storage unit for UltaTech Cement in Gujarat State.

"Pennar is pleased to announce receipt of orders worth US$17.5m from prestigious customers," said Pennar's vice chairman and managing director Aditya Rao. "All business units are focused on gaining market share and maintaining operating margins. We believe that as the macro-economic conditions improve, our positioning will ensure that we benefit in revenue and even gain market share."

India: India's FACT-RCF Building Products Ltd hopes that sales of gypsum-based building products will help it to reach US$50.8m in revenue in the current fiscal year.

The company, which is a joint venture between Kerala-based Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore and Mumbai's Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers, has received an encouraging response from users of gypsum products. End users have already purchased around 23,226m² of products, according to Jaiveer Srivastava, chairman and managing director of FACT-RCF.

The company has set up a 1400000m²/yr capacity plant in Kochi, Kerala at an investment of US$25.4m. Srivastava described the gypsum-based building products as a solution to address the issues connected with natural resource constraints in the building sector at a time when the availability of water, sand and labour are becoming scarce.

India: In a campaign against illegal mining, local police seized 2500t of gypsum from Dantoor in Bikaner district, Jaipur, on 5 February 2014.

Mining equipment was seized and 15 cases have been registered. On the third day of the campaign, a team was prepared to claim gypsum from a plaster of paris manufacturing unit in Bikaner region. The owner was not able to provide the purchase vouchers or state the source of the gypsum. "We received the information and a team was sent. The Bikaner region has a lot of gypsum that, at times, reaches the plants illegally," said Rohit Mahajan, deputy inspector general of vigilance (mining).

The police have registered eight cases in Jhunjhunu and five cases in Nagaur. Officials asserted that due to fear of action against them during the campaign, several illegal mining mafias have stopped their activities. However, they agreed that more such efforts are needed to curb it completely.

"At several places, the mineral can be found on the layer of soils. To extract it, there is no need for sophisticated equipment. Stopping illegal mining activities in these areas is difficult, but certainly the campaign has struck fear among the mafias," added Mahajan.

Police claim that instead of fining the culprits, cases have been registered against them. If they are found to be involved in illegal mining again, stricter action may be taken.

Thailand: BuilderSmart plc (BSM), which makes 51% of its revenue from gypsum products, aims to increase revenue to US$31.5m within the next two years after refocusing on its export markets, mainly India and Myanmar. The company said that the company projects revenue growth of 30%/yr and net profit growth of 50%/yr.