Statybiniu medziagu gamintoja Knauf

INTRODUCTION

|Knauf, a family name, and a corporate group of global dimensions. A leading | |

|manufacturer of building materials worldwide, including plasterboards, | |

|plasters, insulation materials and external renders, with a turnover of Euro| |

|2.5 bn. With over 100 plants in Europe, Asia, USA and South America, it is | |

|through technical innovation and high quality standards that Knauf leads the| |

|development of markets across the Globe. Committed to the environment, Knauf| |

|is active in retaining the natural balance across all oour operations. | |

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| |Established in 1932, Gebr. Knauf Westdeutsche Gipswerke, Iphofen, is not | |

| |only one of the leading manufacturers of building materials in Europe, but | |

| |also a global group whose activities are no longer limited solely to the | |

| |production of gypsum-based building materials. | |

| |  | |

| |The families of Alfons and Karl Knauf still wholly own the strongly | |

| |expanding company. Their oldest sons, BBaldwin and Nikolaus Knauf are the | |

| |managing partners.  | |

| |  | |

| |The company is based in Iphofen, midway between Nuremberg and Frankfurt. | |

| |  | |

| |All the other shareholders also belong to the family aand some are | |

| |responsible for the various business activities of the company both at home | |

| |and abroad. | |

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Established in 1932, Gebr. Knauf Westdeutsche Gipswerke, Iphofen, is

not only one of the leading manufacturers of building materials in Europe,

but also a globally operating group whose activities are no longer limited

solely to the production of gypsum-based building materials.

The families of Alfons and Karl Knauf still wholly own the strongly

expanding company. Their oldest sons, Baldwin and Nikolaus Knauf are the

managing partners. The company is based in Iphofen, midway between

Nuremberg and Frankfurt.

All other shareholders also belong to the family; some are responsible

for the various business activities of the company both at home and

abroad. 

Profile

Knauf nowadays ooperates more than 100 production plants in over 30

countries. Annual sales of more than € 2.5 billion are achieved with more

than 16,000 employees. The main markets are to be found in northern,

western and central Europe as well as the entire Mediterranean area

including Spain, Italy, Greece and Turkey. In recent years Eastern Europe,

the former CIS states and China, in particular, have made an increasingly

significant contribution to the development of business.

Knauf was one of the first companies to invest in modern pplants in

eastern Germany, Eastern Europe and the CIS. In 1997 a new Knauf

plasterboard factory was opened in Wuhu, near Shanghai, a second plant

supplies the markets in Canton, Hong Kong and southern China with Knauf

plasterboards. A third factory was acquired in 1999 from Siam Cement, which

produces in Tianjin, near Peking.

Knauf has spent recent years building up the Brazilian and Argentine

markets. The first Knauf plasterboard factory in South America commenced

production since 2000 in Queimados, near Rio de Janeiro. A further factory

produces in Mendoza in Argentina directly on the border to Chile to service

the Argentine and Chilean markets.

In addition to plasters and plastering accessories, Knauf manufactures

insulating materials made from glass fibers at four sites in the USA.

A further business field is the production of distended pearlites that

are used in plastering, cement bound boards and dry mortars.

With the production of carton for Knauf boards Knauf has continued its

strategy of vertical diversification. Knauf owns two paper factories;

Inland AB in Lilla Edet, Sweden and St Petersburg Polygraphie- und

Kartonkombinat in St. Petersburg in Russia, and also holds shares in

Tecnokarton located in Mayen.

Lime and lime cement plaster and even bricks round off the product

assortment offered by the Knauf group.

The range of products ffor the drywall sector is rounded off by plaster

fiberboards that are manufactured in factories in Satteldorf, Germany, in

Vidin, Bulgaria, in Dzershinsk and Tscheljabinsk, both in Russia.

A new business sector is the production of moulded plastics in France,

Italy, Spain, England, The Netherlands, Brazil and Poland. The construction

of a factory in Belgium for the production of polystyrene is a further step

in the strategy of vertical integration pursued by Knauf in this sector as

well. -3-

Its diversified portfolio of partner companies also highlights the

commitment of Knauf to the construction industry.

The company Putz- und Fördertechnik (PFT) located in Iphofen leads the

market for the development and manufacture of machines for the machine

application of plasters for interior and exterior use. The plaster machine

G4, which is legendary in industry circles, is probably the best-known

product manufactured by PFT.

Richter-System, a leading manufacturer of metal profiles and angle

protectors in Europe, is also a member of the Knauf group.

With more than 30 furnaces in nine factories, Knauf is Europe’s largest

producer of distended Perlites that are used in the production of dry

mortar to improve the heat insulation qualities. 

The product range of Deutsche Perlite GmbH, one of the leading processors

of perlites, also includes the cement-based Perlconboard, dry composition

floor elements and perlite charges.

Group member AAMF is a manufacturer of high-quality mineral fibre boards

used to form innovative ceiling systems.

Knauf Bauprodukte GmbH offers the most extensive range in Europe of

building chemicals for DIY and professional users.

Marmorit GmbH located in Bollschweil, to the south of Stuttgart, produces

and sells an extensive range of lime and lime cement renders.

This extensive and diverse product programme ensures that Knauf is the only

gypsum-based manufacturer in the market offering this complete range of

services and products.

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As expectations for the performance of our buildings rise, so must the

performance of the materials used in their construction. As a result, the

demand for gypsum is on the increase. Due to its exceptional performance

characteristics, we call it the magic material.

Nature is innovative

Nature possesses exceptional innovative spirit. Gypsum, a sedimentary rock

that is over 200 million years old, is so easy to handle that it has been

used for building purposes for thousands of years. For example, 11,000

thousand years ago, the walls and floors in ancient Jericho were made of

gypsum. The utilisation of this building material reached a new peak in the

stucco masterpieces and cornice-work of the Baroque Age. Today gypsum is

used to create a comfortable living environment through both plaster and

plasterboard. And it continues to be used for creative

interior designing. 

Securing the raw material base

It is little wonder that we constantly need more of this magic material.

Knauf combines modern energy-saving methods with state-of-the-art

production processes to ensure that enough of this superb building material

will be at our disposal well into the new millennium.

The ecological outcome is positive

At Knauf, gypsum is extracted, manufactured and transported in a safe and

environmentally friendly manner.

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The white natural stone gypsum was formed in several geological eras 100 to

200 million years ago. Defined chemically defined, gypsum bbears the name

calcium sulphate and has the formula CaSO4 2H2O. It sediment when water

evaporated in shallow bays around the earth.

In the course of the earth’s history, when the gypsum deposits were covered

by other masses of rock or exposed to additional geological influences,

gypsum lost its crystallisation water, and anhydrite (CaSO4 ) was formed.

As soon as water-free anhydrite comes into contact with water again, it

will slowly be reconverted to gypsum.

Both natural materials are important for the manufacture of our products.

Both above ground aand underground extract them.

In many countries, legislation requires that power plants fired with

fossil fuels have to be equipped with flue gas desulphurisation (FGD)

systems. This was a great step towards keeping the air clean.

We at Knauf made a decisive contribution ttowards the further development of

the desulphurisation technology. It is a simple, wet cleaning process using

natural lime, in which the final product is fine FGD gypsum. This gypsum

can be introduced directly into the economic cycle of the construction

materials industry as a raw material.

Both the desulphurisation technology and the development of the processes

of using FGD gypsum in the building materials industry are based on our

research and development work and our comprehensive know-how, as well as

the close cooperation with the operators of power plants.

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FGD gypsum is formed according to the same natural laws as natural

gypsum. The only difference is that the process takes place at an enormous

velocity, within a few hours, whereas nature needed millions of years to

form its gypsum deposits. AA study on the quality of FGD gypsum, which was

carried out over several years and is recognized in international

scientific circles, confirms that its properties are identical to those of

natural gypsum. 

Just like its natural counterpart, FGD gypsum is also a completely harmless

building material, with regard to both health and ecological construction

principles. We constantly check its quality in accordance with our own high

standards, in the same way as with natural gypsum. 

We use FGD gypsum for the manufacture of high-quality gypsum products.

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