Gypsum industry news
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."
Russia: CJSC Knauf Gips Baskunchak, based in the Astrakhan region, plans to start developing the Kashara-Tugai gypsum deposit before the end of 2015, according to company director Sergei Michkov.
"We are commissioning the Kashara-Tugai deposit, located north of Lake Baskunchak. We have received the development license and the documentation has been agreed. The reserves are quite large: it will support production for 100 years," said Michkov in comments reported on by Interfax.
Astrakhan region has reported 67.5Mt of gypsum registered on its state records. Knauf Gips Baskunchak had a total of 111Mt of gypsum reserves recorded at the start of 2015. Knauf Gips Baskunchak, which joined the Knauf group in 1998, produces high-quality dry mixes from gypsum and supplies gypsum to Russian cement plants and other enterprises.
Australia: The Gladstone Port Corporation has approved construction of a US$54m Knauf Plasterboard manufacturing plant at Bundaberg Port, Queensland to begin by the end of 2015. The project is anticipated to create up to 100 local jobs over the next 18 months, according to local media. The plant is due to be completed in January 2017.
Egypt: Sales from Knauf's recently opened wallboard plant in Suez could reach US$15m in Egypt and Africa during the first year of production, according to Alexander Knauf, managing partner of the company. The company plans to sell 8Mm2 of gypsum wallboard during the first year of operation, Knauf said in a statement.
Egypt: The German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce (GACIC) has announced the opening of a new US$50m Knauf Egypt plant. The plant has a capacity of 15Mm2/yr of gypsum wallboard, 90,000t/yr of other gypsum products and 25Mm/yr of metal cutters. Construction in the Ataqa Suez industrial zone began in 2010. Suez was selected as the plant site because of its strategic location between raw materials sites, local markets and major export markets.
Knauf starts US$53m project in Uzbekistan
18 May 2015Uzbekistan: Knauf has started a new US$52.5m investment project at two of its plants in Bukhara. The move follows the signing of a new agreement in 2014 by Knauf and Uzstroymateriali JSC to boost economic cooperation between Uzbekistan and Germany.
Knauf has already invested US$51m in Uzbekistan. It has two plants in Bukhara: JV JSC Bukharagips, which produces dry building mixes and Knauf Gips Bukhara, which produces gypsum wallboard. The 60,000t/yr capacity Bukharagips plant started operations in August 2009, while the 20Mm3/yr capacity Knauf Gips Bukhara plant was built in 2011.
Gypsum ‘mafia’ bury export price of gypsum in Azerbaijan
09 April 2015Azerbaijan: Gypsum exporters in Azerbaijan deliberately reduced export prices of gypsum by a factor of 10 in 2014 to evade tax, according to research by the Turan Information Agency conducted on data from Azerbaijan and Georgia state sources.
According to the research, the export and import values for gypsum failed to match between Azerbaijan and Georgia in 2014, leading to a US$24.1m tax shortfall. Gypsum exported from Azerbaijan was valued at US$17/t but gypsum imported into Georgia was valued at US$170/t. Almost all export of gypsum of Azerbaijan appeared to go to Georgia according to data from the National Statistics Office of Georgia. Turan dubbed gypsum producers in Azerbaijan as the 'Gypsum Mafia'.
The main producers of plaster in Azerbaijan are Garant Holding and Gilan Holding. Both companies are located close to gypsum deposits in the Goranboy region. Gilan Holding has a joint venture with the German company Knauf for the production of wallboard.
Australia: Knauf Plasterboard is expected to announce that it will begin the construction phase of a new plant at the Bundaberg Port in south-east Queensland. Knauf Plasterboard currently manufactures and distributes plasterboard and accessories out of its Melbourne and Sydney plants.
In 2014, the company bought land from Gladstone Ports Corporation at the Bundaberg Port and is expected to start building a new plant in March 2015. Company spokesman Brian Tisher said that the new plant would create 200 jobs in the construction phase and 55 new positions when the project was complete in 2016. Tisher said that most of the products made would be sold in Queensland, but some would be exported. He added that building the facility in Bundaberg was an obvious choice, as a 26km gas pipeline was recently installed. The plant should be operational by September 2016.
Knauf's Australian and New Zealand wallboard unit chiefs resign
10 November 2014Australia/New Zealand: The Australian and New Zealand chiefs of Knauf's wallboard operations have resigned. Additionally, the New Zealand business is under review, having posted a loss in its first nine months of operations.
The head of the New Zealand wallboard unit, John Russ, has confirmed to local media that he has resigned and will leave the company in two weeks. Meanwhile Mark Norris, managing director of Knauf Plasterboard in Australia, resigned with immediate effect on 6 November 2014.
Knauf has struggled to gain traction in the New Zealand building market, which is dominated by Fletcher Building and it took Knauf longer than expected to gain approval for its products from BRANZ, a local independent research and testing institute, before it could start to sell to consumers. Even then, the company said that it faced resistance getting its products into stores, which had established relationships with Fletcher.
Knauf Gips opens consulting centre in Samarkand
08 September 2014Uzbekistan: Knauf has launched a consulting centre at the Samarkand State Architecture and Construction Institute, named after Mirzo Ulugbek, on 4 September 2014 in Samarkand, Samarqand Province. This is Knauf's second consulting centre in Uzbekistan. The first was opened in June 2008 under Tashkent State Architecture and Construction Institute, which has proven its efficiency in training skilled builders.
The centre will provide training to all interested parties on the use of modern construction materials. The training programmes are designed for various groups, including individuals who repair their houses on their own as well as professionals. Each trainee will receive technical documentation, manuals and other literature. Dmitry Deripalko, director general of Knauf Gips Bukhara, underlined that the centre will assist young people and builders to receive theoretical and practical skills.
Knauf purchased 30.8% of state assets in Bukharagips for US$1.55m and invested US$6.3m over a three-year period. Knauf currently holds 98.98% stake in the enterprise, while employees and other shareholders hold 1.02%. The enterprise specialises in the production of dry gypsum mixtures and was founded in 1934. Bukharagips owns a gypsum mine with 45Mt of reserves with 90-100% calcium content, a lime mine with 7.8Mt of reserves and several other mines. Knauf launched production of dry gypsum mixtures in 2009 at the 60,000t capacity Bukharagips plant.