Gypsum industry news

UK: Formula, a brand of Saint-Gobain, has awarded a five-year contract to Darlington-based Banner Contracts to extract high purity gypsum from its opencast mine in Newark, Nottinghamshire. Banner Contracts was chosen after a tender process involving eight potential suppliers.

The opencast mine, known as Bantycock, produces around 230,000t/yr of gypsum. Nottinghamshire County Council agreed a revised restoration scheme at the site following consultation. So far this has seen the backfilling of 25 acres with overburden completed and covered with topsoil in 2016.

"Banner's professionalism and expertise is second to none so we are delighted to announce this contract. Its experience in mineral processing was a key factor in its selection as it will help us continue to improve our yield of useable gypsum versus the amount of rock we extract. This improved yield helps maximise the reserve life, whilst operating in a safe and sustainable manner. We look forward to a mutually beneficial relationship over the duration of the contract," said Saint-Gobain Formula Plant Manager Mark Yates.

Banner Contracts Director Jo Banner added that the contract is a large one for the company and that it has invested in a new plant and equipment. New installations at the site include a Hercules trommell commissioned especially for the application, a number of Tesab machines including a 800i jaw crusher, a TS1860 scalping screen, a TS2430 screen and a Trackstack radial conveyor and a sizer from MMD.

France: Saint-Gobain has appointed Jean-Dominique Senard as Lead Independent Director. The newly created role will oversee the running of the company's governance bodies. Senard has been an independent director since 2012. The board of directors has also decided to appoint Senard as chairman of the Strategy and Corporate Social Responsibility Committee following the retirement of Jean-Martin Folz in June 2017. Philippe Varin will become the chairman of the Audit and Risk Committee and Anne-Marie Idrac will become the chairman of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee. All the personnel changes will take effect from 8 June 2017 at the company's annual general meeting.

Switzerland: The board of directors of Sika has offered to buy out the stake of the Burkard-Schenker family in order to end a battle caused by the family's intention to sell its controlling stake to Saint-Gobain. Sika's chairman Paul Haelg announced plans to buy the family shares, in an interview with newspapers NZZ am Sonntag and Schweiz, saying that after a two-year dispute it has become obvious that no solution can be reached if all sides work against each other.

The announcement follows a ruling by the Cantonal Court of Zug on 28 October 2016 that blocked the sale of Burkard-Schenker's shares to Saint-Gobain. The family holds 16.4% of the capital and 52.6% of the voting rights of Sika. Saint-Gobain reacted to the ruling by saying that its board of directors continues to want to buy Sika and that agreement with the Burkard family is valid until June 2017 and can be extended until December 2018.

France: Saint-Gobain's sales from its Interior Solutions division, comprising gypsum wallboard and insulation products, has risen by 2.1% year-on-year to Euro4.94bn in the first nine months of 2016 from Euro4.83bn in the same period in 2015. On a like-for-like basis the group said that its sales grew by 4.3%. It said that sales grew in all regions in the third quarter of 2016 and that despite a 'deflationary' environment prices remained under pressure in developed economies.

"The third quarter confirmed the upturn in volumes in Western Europe. France benefited from the steady improvement in new-builds; the UK showed no sign of weakness. Volumes continued to grow in US construction despite the lack of positive weather impacts for roofing in the quarter. Our businesses in Asia and emerging countries remained strong, delivering further robust growth. The price effect moved back into positive territory over the quarter, reflecting Saint-Gobain's strong positioning on its markets," said Pierre-André de Chalendar, chairman and chief executive officer of Saint-Gobain.

Overall, the group reported that its sales fell by 1.7% to Euro29.3bn from Euro29.8bn across all business lines although it said that on a like-for-like basis sales rose by 2.6%.

Chile: El Volcan, a company owned by Matte Group and Saint-Gobain, plans to spend up to US$50m on building a new gypsum wallboard plant in Puente Alto. The builder's merchant intends to upgrade an existing production site to produce wallboard and plaster, according to the El Mercurio newspaper. Permits have been secured for the project and the plant is expected to be ready by early 2018. The company also intends to start selling its full range of products in Peru.

France: Environmental concerns have been raised about Placoplatre's plans to develop a open-cast gypsum quarry at Fort de Vaujours near Paris. The site is believed to contain enough high-end gypsum for the Saint-Gobain subsidiary's nearby wallboard plant and for other plants in the group, according to Deutsche Welle. However, environmentalists have raised the risks of excavating a site near to the capital of France that was used for nuclear testing between the 1950s and 1990s.

"It's important to maintain our plant. We employ 400 people at the factory which generates 3000 indirect jobs and an additional average 1000 workers will be operating at the industrial site," said Gilles Bouchet, Placoplatre's head of mining development. He added that the wallboard producer has conducted impact and radiation studies that have been submitted to the French nuclear safety body ASN.

Christophe Nedelec, president of environmental non-government organisation Gagny-Les Abbesses-Chelles has queried the efficacy of Placoplatre's tests and has called for an independent body to conduct them.

UK: British Gypsum has released plans to use natural gypsum instead of synthetic gypsum at its Sherburn-in-Elmet wallboard plant in North Yorkshire. The company wants to extend its mill building to aid the conversion as well as make some minor logistical changes at the site. The details were released as part of a planning application made to the local council, according to the York Press. If approved, British Gypsum says that the conversion will safeguard 130 jobs at the plant.

According to the planning statement, the current forecast for synthetic gypsum supply to the Sherburn plant projects that in late 2017 or early 2018, the plant's ability to continue manufacturing would be under threat. The plant is currently unable to grind natural gypsum rock on-site and operates solely on the use of desulphurised gypsum supplied from the Drax Power Station. The statement claims adequate and appropriate infrastructure is in place to meet the needs of the proposed development, including appropriate drainage to ensure there would be no increased risk of flooding from surface water run-off. It adds that the proposed development will be energy efficient and minimise energy consumption.

Switzerland: Jan Jenisch, the chief executive of Sika, has said that he will resign if Saint-Gobain wins its bid to takeover the company. He added that he does not see a positive future for the growth of Sika should Saint-Gobain succeed, in comments at a company event reported upon by Reuters. The management of Sika have been fighting a takeover attempt by Saint-Gobain since December 2014.

France: Saint-Gobain has joined part of the 2016 Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), ranking among the top-three global companies and the number one European company for construction products. Special mention was given to the group's commitment and initiatives to tackle climate change. Established in 1999, the DJSI distinguishes best-in-class companies in the field of corporate social responsibility.

"I am very proud to see our group included in this renowned index, which is the benchmark for Corporate Social Responsibility. It is recognition of our commitment in this endeavour. We initially set out to be listed in 2017, so we met our target a year ahead of schedule. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our teams for achieving this excellent result," said Pierre-André de Chalendar, Chairman and CEO of Saint-Gobain.

France: Saint-Gobain's sales revenue has fallen by 1.6% year-on-year to Euro19.6bn in the first half of 2016 from Euro19.9bn in the same period of 2015. Its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 3.8% to Euro1.89bn from Euro1.96bn. The group blamed the loss in sales revenue on negative currency changes, especially in Latin American, and to a lesser extent, in the UK following its decision to leave the European Union. Saint-Gobain's Interior Solutions division, which includes gypsum wallboard and insulation production, reported a 3.1% rise in sales revenue to Euro3.3bn from Euro3.2bn.

"Saint-Gobain's sales for first-half 2016 confirm our February forecasts, with France stabilising and all regions making strong contribution to growth. Our strategy of investing in emerging markets provides us with a diversified platform for profitable growth. Our first-half results also benefited from efforts to optimise our operations, particularly in Western Europe, and from upbeat trading in the US. The results are in line with our objectives and we expect alike-for-like improvement in operating income for second-half 2016 versus second-half 2015. While the 23 June 2016 Brexit vote in the UK has created a climate of uncertainty, it does not affect our objectives," said Pierre-André de Chalendar, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Saint-Gobain.