Gypsum industry news

New Zealand: Members of the building sector report that a local shortage in gypsum wallboard has started to ease. Christchurch-based Co-operative Building Supplies chair Carl Taylor told Radio New Zealand News, that since Winstone Wallboards announced a number of corrective measures in June 2022, supply had improved a "fair bit" but it was not back to levels seen before the Covid-19 pandemic started. Rick Herd, the chief executive officer of building company Naylor Love, added that Winstone Wallboards had increased its production but that a reduction in market demand had also helped.

In late September 2022, Winstone Wallboards’ general manager David Thomas thanked his customers for their patience. He added that the company was getting closer to levelling up supply with demand for wallboard across the country. Parent company Fletcher Building Materials previously said that it expected the market to stabilise by October 2022. Winstone Wallboards’ GIB product range is the main brand of wallboard used in New Zealand. The company is reported to hold around a 95% share of the local market.

Saudi Arabia: Eight companies have been accepted by the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources to offer bids for an exploration license for gypsum ore at the Al-Qasab wells mining site. The preferential bidders include Saudi National Gypsum, El-Khayyat Gypsum, United Cement Industrial, Global Gypsum Company, United Mining Industries, Mada Gypsum and ASK Gypsum, according to the Arab News newspaper. The proposed site is located south of Nabat in Al Madinah province. The initiative is part of the government’s plans to further develop the country’s mining sector.

Poland: Saint-Gobain has signed a renewable electricity agreement (Power Purchase Agreement) with Tion Renewables AG (currently being renamed from Pacifico Renewables Yield AG), the German wind and solar power producer. The 15-year agreement will run from 2025 and cover around 45% of Saint-Gobain Poland's electricity needs.

"This power supply agreement is an important milestone for Saint-Gobain in Poland. It will contribute to a significant reduction in our CO₂ emissions, in line with the group's commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050' said Joanna Czynsz-Piechowiak, chief executive officer of Saint-Gobain Poland. "It will enable a reduction in CO₂ emissions of 135,000t/yr, i.e. nearly 20% of Saint-Gobain's scope 1 and 2 emissions in Poland.

The PPA foresees the purchase of approximately 190GWh of wind energy annually. This is equivalent to supplying about 100,000 European homes with renewable electricity each year. The total capacity of the wind farms is equivalent to circa 52MW spread over three sites and 20 wind turbines. This announcement illustrates how Saint-Gobain is stepping up the pace on its carbon neutrality roadmap and comes in the wake of the recent endorsement by the Science Based Targets initiative of the group's commitments to reduce CO₂ emissions by 2050.

UK: XPO Logistics, a leading global provider of freight transportation services, has been awarded a multi-year contract renewal by Etex. XPO distributes several hundred thousand tonnes of products for Etex each year in the UK. It uses a dedicated fleet to deliver gypsum wallboard to builders’ merchants and building sites from Etex's manufacturing plants in Bristol and Ferrybridge. It also supports distribution centres in Basildon and Grangemouth. The customised network is managed by XPO teams on-site, and draws on XPO’s wider resources for transport and storage as needed to supplement seasonal fluctuations in demand. Under the new agreement, XPO will remain a single-source provider for transport and on-site logistics management, and will collaborate with Etex to prepare for higher distribution volumes. Etex’s planned significant investment in the Bristol site will increase production and warehousing capacity to support the company’s expansion in the UK.

UK: Knauf has maintained its 'Excellent' rating for BES 6001 Responsible Sourcing of its wallboard, laminated plasterboard and gypsum powder products, a rating that it has held since 2019.

The BES 6001 standard is a means of securing certification to demonstrate through independent, third-party certification, that raw materials for products certified against the scheme have been responsibly sourced and that Knauf manufactures these products in a way that minimises the impact on the environment and natural resources. Knauf said that this was a 'significant achievement,' requiring input from all areas of its business, from procurement and manufacturing activities to distribution to customers.