Gypsum industry news

Canada: Saint-Gobain Canada has appointed Jean-Claude Lasserre as its CEO, effective 1 April 2025. Lasserre brings over 30 years of experience working for Saint-Gobain across multiple continents, most recently serving as Saint-Gobain Surface Solutions CEO in France. Lasserre succeeds Julie Bonamy, who oversaw US$2.77bn in strategic acquisitions for Saint-Gobain Canada, including of metal products company Bailey Group of Companies, roofing company Building Products of Canada and siding products company Kaycan.

Lasserre said "My primary focus will be to connect with our customers and support our teams as we continue our work to offer a complete portfolio of building products with our recent acquisitions, while reinforcing our commitment to sustainable construction. We are eagerly anticipating the completion of North America's first zero-carbon wallboard plant in Sainte-Catherine, Quebec, and the imminent launch of CarbonLow drywall."

US: Georgia-Pacific has appointed its current President of Gypsum, David Neal, as Executive Vice President of Building Products, effective from March 2025. In his present role, Neal led a US$300m expansion to the group’s Sweetwater gypsum wallboard plant in Texas. He previously served as Vice President of Operations, as Regional Operations Leader and in other sales and operations management roles since joining the company as a plant manager in 2004. He holds a bachelor of science degree from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Neal succeeds Andy Konieczka who will retire. Konieczka has worked for Georgia-Pacific and its parent company, Koch, since 1992.

Brazil: Trevo Drywall has appointed Paulo César Pereira Alencar as its new CEO. Alencar has 35 years of business experience as a tax lawyer, and holds a law degree from the Regional University of Cariri.

The company additionally appointed Gabriel Rodrigues Granja de Alencar as its chief financial officer. Granja de Alencar previously worked as a director at plaster producer Gesso Trevo, as well as in the area of compliance at consultancy firm Ernst & Young. He holds a postgraduate degree in business management.

Australia: Shareholders in CSR have voted in favour of the company’s proposed acquisition by France-based Saint-Gobain for US$2.87bn.

CSR chair John Gillam said “The attractive value creation for shareholders arising from the planned acquisition by Saint-Gobain is a clear validation of the strategy and its successful execution by the CSR team under Julie Coates’ leadership. Organisations like Saint-Gobain don’t just casually start trading in a new country if they haven’t got a productive capacity to back up what they’re selling, so they’re looking to participate in this economy by acquiring at a very strong price.”

US: Out West Drywall is among building materials producers that have donated their products to non-profit organisation Habitat for Humanity’s latest affordable housing development in Montrose, Colorado. Local press has reported that the producer donated its gypsum wallboard for use in the development. Habitat for Humanity uses the economic process of shared appreciation to give its homeowners 5% composite annual growth in the equity value of their new homes over 20 years. Its goal is to raise living standards by increasing access to housing.

Russia: Knauf is seeking to transfer its ‘entire business in Russia’ to its local management, pending the approval of Russian authorities. The Kyiv Independent newspaper has reported that Knauf elected for the transfer in order to protect the jobs of 4000 employees in the country.

France: Saint-Gobain’s chief executive officer (CEO) will also become the company’s chair after the next general shareholders meeting in June 2024. He will succeed Pierre-André de Chalendar in the role, who is preparing to retire. Independent director Jean-Francois Cirelli will also be appointed as vice-chair at the meeting.

The France-based company said that its board of directors have been working since 2021 to enhance the effectiveness of the group's governance and the independence of the board by restructuring the balance of power within it. A Lead Independent Director will also be appointed in June 2024 with additional powers and the proportion of independent directors on the board will be increased, subject to a vote.

US: Two members of GMS’ board of directors, Peter Browning and Teri McClure, have won national awards for corporate leadership. Browning won the National Association of Corporate Directors’ Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognises commitment to the improvement of corporate governance. Meanwhile, McClure won DirectWomen’s Board Excellence Award for women lawyers who have served with distinction.

GMS chair John Gavin said "On behalf of the entire board of directors of GMS, I congratulate Peter and Teri for these well-deserved honours. It is gratifying to see that organisations like these recognise the incredible talent that we on the board get to experience every day. The selections of Peter and Teri for these important distinctions speak not only to this level of talent but also underscore our commitment to the highest level of corporate governance standards and promoting diversity and corporate governance principles. We are fortunate to have directors of such high calibre serving on our Board and benefit from their extensive knowledge and experience."

Saudi Arabia: USG Boral Middle East has rebranded as USG Middle East (USG ME) with the tagline ‘Innovative Solutions Everytime.’ The company is a joint venture between Knauf-subsidiary USG and Juman Industrial Investment Company. It was originally founded in 1985 and later become part of USG Boral. It produces gypsum wallboard, ceiling, interior finishing, substrate and metal framing products.

UK: Saint-Gobain has brought its British Gypsum, Celotex and Isover gypsum wallboard and insulation brands together under the Saint-Gobain Interior Solutions portfolio. The marketing labelling is intended to allow customers to access products, solutions and services.

Dean O’Sullivan, the managing director of Saint-Gobain Interior Solutions, said “This collective three-brand approach allows customers to access the know-how and expertise of each brand in one place, through our dedicated sector and sales teams. This will bring a range of benefits to our customers, allowing us to provide even better support, with even simpler access to our market-leading systems and products.” He added, ”Each brand continues to play an important part, but by having a single point of contact and sector specific teams, we are confident our customers will realise the strength in collaboration and solutions that ultimately help them meet their needs for outstanding performance, longevity and value.”