Gypsum industry news

Japan: Chiyoda Ute’s revenue remained stable at US$165m in the first nine months of its financial year to 31 December 2021. Its net profit grew by 53% year-on-year to US$5.37m from US$3.52m in the same period in 2020. The gypsum wallboard producer reported that domestic house building had grown from March to December 2021 in tandem with a relaxation in coronavirus health measures from September 2021. It said that national gypsum wallboard shipping volumes grew by 2.4% to 344Mm² in the nine months to 31 December 2021. It added that due to the capital and business alliance it started with Knauf Group in January 2020 it viewed its future prospects as ‘competitive.’ In late 2019 the Germany-based construction materials company increased its shareholding in Chiyoda Ute to 45% from 26%.

US: The Gypsum Association (GA) has released its revised guidance on levels of finish for gypsum panel products (GA-214-2021). This document is intended to assist design professionals, contractors and building owners to more precisely describe in project documents the finishing requirements for walls and ceilings prior to the application of paints and other decorative finishes. It was last revised in 2015.

Oman: Oman exported 8.74Mt of gypsum in 2021. Data from Oman-based Zawawi Minerals shows that the country had a 44% share of the gypsum export market to Asian, the Middle East and south-east Africa. Its main destination was India, followed by Bangladesh. Thailand followed with exports of 4.91Mt for both gypsum and anhydrite (32%) and then Iran with 4.2Mt (21%). Other exporting nations included Australia, Mexico and Bhutan. Total recorded exports to the region were 19.8Mt.

UK: Belgium-based Etex has announced a new UK trading agreement with Kier, a provider of construction and infrastructure services.The arrangement will see Etex and Kier collaborate on a variety of new projects using Etex’s products, including its Siniat brand wallboard.

Gerard Cox, Head of Procurement for Kier Construction, added “We are excited to include Etex Building Performance to our carefully selected list of preferred supply chain partners and look forward to engaging with them on our projects where we believe their range of products, warrantied systems and customer focussed approach, have the potential to add real value to our business.”

Etex previously said it plans to start operations at its new wallboard plant at the Port of Bristol in 2022. It has invested around Euro165m in the project that is set to double its production capacity in the UK.

Bosnia & Herzegovina: China-based BNBM plans to build a 40Mm²/yr gypsum wallboard plant in a joint venture with Rudnik i Termoelektrana Ugljevik (RiTE Ugljevik). The new company will be called BNBM Eastern Europe and based at Ugljevik, where RiTE Ugljevik operates the coal-fired Ugljevik Power Plant. The project has an investment of Euro50m with BNBM contributing Euro45m towards the total. Construction is expected to take 18 months, although a start date is subject to the joint-venture meeting certain conditions to the satisfaction of its parent companies. RiTE Ugljevik is a subsidiary of the state-owned power company Elektroprivreda.