Gypsum industry news

Saudi Arabia: United Mining Industries expects a strong financial performance in the second half of 2025 compared to the first half, due to the planned start of commercial operations at its gypsum board plant by the end of October 2025. United Mining’s profit fell to US$2.7m in the first half of 2025 compared to US$3.2m in the same period of 2024.

CEO Hamad Alsourayia said that the company’s profit reduction in the first half of 2025 was due to an 18% drop in total revenues along with higher operating costs. Revenues decreased mainly due to weaker demand for value-added products amid a market slowdown, seasonal factors, and lower operating volumes in the first half of 2025. Alsourayia added that the change in the sales mix had an effect on average selling prices and profit margins since it led to less sales of value-added products, which, in turn, had an effect on average prices and margins.

France: Céline Da Silva has been appointed Group Strategy Director of Saint-Gobain, effective 1 October 2025. She will report to Maud Thuaudet, Chief Financial Officer. Da Silva succeeds Noémie Chocat, who will take on new operational responsibilities in North America as of 1 January 2026. Céline, who holds dual French and Portuguese nationality, has been Chief Financial Officer of Saint-Gobain’s ceramics business since 2021. In this role, she took part in several acquisitions in the US, China and Europe. She joined Saint-Gobain in 2003.

Paraguay: WEIG Group subsidiary Yaguarete Papeles has purchased a new paper production unit. The equipment will produce wallboard liner and testliner using recycled fibre. It was previously installed at a production site in Germany. Dismantling is underway, with delivery to the plant in Paraguay scheduled for mid-2026.

Weig Technical Liner Managing Director Bernd Stibi said "We are taking an important step to strengthen our presence in Latin America. The investment allows us to reliably supply our customers with high-quality plasterboard liner, while at the same time supporting sustainable growth in the region."

US: ReCB plans to resume production of its Everboard recycled carton-based alternative wallboard. The company acquired a second production site in Des Moines, Iowa, and the Everboard trademark after previous owner Waste Materials closed down production in November 2024. ReCB’s existing plant is situated in Lodi, California

Local press has reported that ReCB now commands 1.11Mm²/yr of Everboard production capacity, which will involve the recycling of 12,000t/yr of cartons as raw materials. It plans to employ a total of 16 people for round-the-clock production. The company will subsequently expand it footprint to a combined capacity 9.29Mm²/yr across six locations.

Canada: Saint-Gobain subsidiary CertainTeed has concluded a year-long trial to increase the efficiency of CertainTeed 5/8 Type X gypsum wallboard production at its Winnipeg plant through recipe optimisation and technology upgrades. The producer adjusted its water-to-stucco ratio and replaced the line’s existing magnetic flow meters with Coriolis flow meters. It cut water usage by 1.09 million litres (3%), energy consumption by 25,000MWhr and CO₂ emissions by 5.6t year-on-year, while also increasing productivity by 5% year-on-year.

The producer now plans to roll out other water management initiatives based on the case study of the Winnipeg plant across its plants in Calgary, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.