Gypsum industry news

Kuwait: Kuwait Gypsum Manufacturing and Trading has reported that its profit fell by 19.4% year-on-year to US$0.9m in 2015 from US$1.11m in 2014. Its profit in the fourth quarter of 2015 fell by 22.8% year-on-year to US$0.62m from US$0.80m. The wallboard producer runs a plant in Shuaiba producing boards under the K-GYPS brand.

France/Switzerland: Saint-Gobain and the Burkard family have extended their agreement relating to the sale of shares of Schenker-Winkler Holding (SWH) and to extend the validity of the agreement until 30 June 2017. Saint-Gobain will then have an option to extend the agreement until 31 December 2018. SWH holds the majority of voting rights of Sika.

"Together, we are fully committed to this transaction. It makes sense from a strategic, industrial and financial standpoint for Saint-Gobain and for Sika, for their employees, for their customers and for all of their shareholders. The amendment to the agreement covers the longest of timelines to resolve related disputes, allowing SWH to regain its property rights," said Pierre-André de Chalendar, Chairman and CEO of Saint-Gobain.

In December 2014, Saint-Gobain announced its intention to buy a 16.1% stake in Sika for Euro2.6bn, thus acquiring control over the building materials producer. However, Sika's management and minority shareholders opposed the deal. At the end of January 2016, Saint-Gobain's finance chief Laurent Guillot told Reuters that the group still believed in a successful outcome despite the resistance it faced. In February 2016 Sika reiterated its opposition to the takeover in a financial statement saying that, "There is still no evidence to suggest there is any industrial logic behind the transaction."

Vietnam: Knauf Vietnam has signed a strategic cooperation agreement for the distribution of gypsum wallboard with Zinca Vietnam. A ceremony marking the signing was held on 12 March 2016 and attended by about 300 guests, including gypsum wallboard distributors, dealers, contractors, developers, and architects, according to local press.

"I believe this remarkable milestone will help us strengthen our nationwide coverage and promote brand awareness," said David Thomas, General Director of Knauf Vietnam. He added that the company's 20Mm² wallboard plant in Hai Phong has started commissioning and is due to started selling commercial products by May 2016.

Knauf Vietnam was licensed in 2013 to build a gypsum wallboard plant. It has since established offices in Hai Phong, Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City and has been developing a distribution network throughout the country. In the meantime it has been selling products locally including StandardShield, MoistShield, FireShield, Knauf Danoline and Cleaneo.

Zinca Vietnam is a Vietnamese building materials manufacturer and distributor that was founded in 1995. It previously signed a cooperation deal with Saint-Gobain in 2007 to distribute Gyproc branded products in the country.

Australia: Minotaur Exploration is looking to sell its gypsum deposit at Lake Purdilla, Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. The mineral exploration company reports that the 87Mt deposit has an estimated purity of 91% gypsum consisting of gypsarenite and selenite. The site has been classified as an Inferred Resource based on previous drilling programmes.

Lake Purdilla is believed to be the largest known undeveloped gypsum resource in South Australia. Minotaur Exploration estimates that the site could be mined at a rate of 1Mt/yr for over 50 years. Gypsum from the site would be suitable for domestic use for wallboard production, cement manufacture and agricultural use. It could also be eligible for export to Southeast Asia.

Previously Minotaur Exploration agreed a sale worth US$4.8m for the Lake Purdilla gypsum deposit in late October 2014. The buyer was unnamed.

UK: British Gypsum has partnered with contractor Willmott Dixon to enhance its existing site quality course with a bespoke training programme. As part of a new approach to industry training, British Gypsum built a custom made, full-scale construction site known as the 'Recapping Zone', in which Willmott Dixon employees were tasked with locating over 40 staged faults that could occur in real life scenarios on projects.

British Gypsum took a similar approach to that of a real-life build when constructing the zone, consulting with architects, designers and course facilitators. At present, 436 Willmott Dixon employees have completed the course, and a refresher programme will be run to recap and update the training.

"We worked in close collaboration with Willmott Dixon to deliver the course and also train staff to deliver the course themselves. We combined traditional training methods with hands-on activities to help Willmott Dixon employees take a more practical approach to training in a realistic scenario," said David Hall, National Technical Academy Manager for British Gypsum. "It is our aim to provide the next generation of installers in the interiors sector with information about the latest systems and techniques."