Belarus: The Council of Ministers has issued Resolution 688, effecting a temporary ban on exports of most foreign gypsum from the country. Business World Magazine News has reported that the ban only affects gypsum that originates outside of Belarus and Russia.

World: Germany-based Knauf and its insulation subsidiary Knauf Insulation have consolidated their online presence with a new website, knauf.com. The site offers access to the group’s entire product range. Knauf said that the shift is intended to help customers to increase their productivity.

Knauf Ibérica marketing and technical director Pablo Maroto said "This new platform reinforces our commitment to innovation and facilitates access to our solutions at a global level."

US: Xeriant will begin to produce its Nexboard alternative wallboard for sale at some time in the near-term future after making further recipe adjustments focused on ensuring fire safety. The company has contracted large-scale production to a ‘well-established’ producer, with which it is currently in the setup stage. It is also in talks with a bank about finance.

CEO Keith Duffy said "After initial fire testing at a national certification laboratory in June 2024, we engaged a polymer chemist to refine Nexboard's composition with a focus on passing the rigorous NFPA 286 fire safety test. This step followed several modifications in the base material and fire-retardant compositions and the finalisation of a production method that ensures the highest-volume, best quality and lowest-cost output. This extensive research and testing over many months has led us to believe that the additional changes will enable Nexboard to meet or even surpass the existing code requirements for building materials used in our targeted applications."

China: BNBM says that despite issues with the domestic real estate sector demand for wallboard had ‘remained relatively stable’ in the first half of 2024. It attributed this to retrofit activity, government changes to the housing market and infrastructure projects. Its operating income grew by 19% year-on-year from US$1.60bn in the first half of 2023 to US$1.91bn in the first half of 2024. Sales volumes of gypsum wallboard rose by 7% from 1092Mm² to 1168Mm². The company added that overseas sales had grown in the reporting period and its Thailand Gypsum Board project had started construction.

CNBM’s New Materials business division, comprising BNBM and other subsidiaries, saw its sales grow slightly but profit fell. However, CNBM’s group revenue and gross profit fell significantly due to the poor performance of its heavy building materials division.