Gib crisis: Fletcher imported plasterboard for six months, talks with CSR unsuccessful

Fletcher Building, with a 94 per cent stranglehold on our plasterboard supply, imported product for six months to try to ease the crisis and it hopes to start that up again soon.

But even that hasn't been enough to resolve our Gib supply shortage.

A Fletcher spokesperson said subsidiary Winstone Wallboards, which makes and distributes Gib, had imported Australian plasterboard for six months and also talked to giant manufacturer CSR about selling its product.

But that never resulted in any deal.

"Winstone Wallboards has been exploring a number of options to boost New Zealand's plasterboard supply, including importing plasterboard from Australia.

"We recently worked with ETEX Australia to provide standard plasterboard, which we imported for around six months," the spokesperson said.

The agreement included Winstone Wallboards supplying raw materials and expertise to ETEX to ensure the plasterboard met performance requirements.

"Unfortunately, Australia also has a plasterboard shortage, so ETEX ended their arrangement with us at the end of 2021 so they could focus on their domestic market," she said.

New $400m Winstone Wallboards factory at Tauriko, Tauranga in April. Photo / supplied

But Winstone Wallboards, headed by general manager David Thomas, has recently been told there might be an opportunity to recommence from August.

"We are continuing to explore this and other opportunities to alleviate the current shortage of plasterboard in the market," spokesperson said.

"We also talked with CSR about a similar arrangement but entered an agreement with ETEX," she added.

CSR sells Gyprock plasterboard but is a large Australian building products manufacturer and supplier whose other brands include Monier roof tiles.

Gyprock says its name has been 'Australian for 'plasterboard' since 1947.

"Gyprock transformed the building industry with the introduction of paper-faced plasterboard, further advancing lightweight construction methods," that company says.

No commercial arrangements were ever struck between Winstone Wallboards and CSR.

Critics say that was due to pricing and Winstone not agreeing to pay what CSR wanted, leaving our building sector with critically low supplies and builders complaining of six to eight to 12-month delays.

'Not Gib' - Shane Brealey at Point England's 132-unit Kupenga which is all getting Thai plasterboard. Photo / supplied

"We needed Gib in May so we asked about it in January," said Shane Brealey, managing director of Simplicity Living. which is building 334 new Auckland townhouses and apartments. He cited the delay as crippling.

"Winstones were telling us in January of a three to four-month lead time. Here we are in the middle of June and they still can't confirm they can supply us anything before Christmas!" Brealey said last week.

So he has taken to importing four containers of Thai plasterboard a month and will never buy from Winstone Wallboards again.

Winstone Wallboards is in Fletcher's building products division, which made $1.4b gross revenue in the year to June 30, 2021, up on the previous $1.1b.

"Revenue up 19 per cent, strong demand from residential and infrastructure sectors, plus share gains, improved pricing disciplines with escalating electricity, freight and raw material input cost increases passed on in second half," the company said of the division's annual performance.

Critics say: "It was obvious a disaster was looming. Why didn't you act earlier?" The worse thing about the Gib crisis was that Fletcher knew it was coming at least a year in advance, its critics say. Building consents are granted about 12 months before Gib is needed at sites. Nobody would know more about sources of worldwide plasterboard than WWB so why didn't they take the many steps available to them to protect their customer base?

Fletcher says: "We're doing all we can". The company has a three-pronged attack to break the supply crisis: running two mills 24/7, limiting supply to site-ready jobs and building a new $400m plant at Tauriko, Tauranga, opening next year.

Critics say: "With privilege comes responsibility: why didn't you import to keep us supplied?" Winstone Wallboards could have bought board from overseas to keep the New Zealand market running, rather than rationing

Fletcher says: We did import it from Australia. For six months, the company brought in wallboard but that arrangement ended. We hope it will resume in August. And we tried to strike a deal with CSR but that didn't succeed.

Critics say: "Crank up the mills: why didn't you increase production earlier?". If Fletcher knew at least a year in advance of the looming building boom, why didn't they make more Gib? It was clear via building consents issued that a crisis was in the making. The business should have reacted far sooner.

Fletcher says: We did. Penrose and Christchurch mills run 24/7 and have been for quite some time. We're doing all we can to make and supply Gib. We decided to build the new mill in 2019, then Covid hit and held us up.

Critics say: "Just wrong to get the 94 per cent stranglehold"
How can one company be allowed to control 94 per cent of the market and be the sole manufacturer of plasterboard in NZ?

Answer: Historical monopolies can't be undone. Winstone Wallboards is New Zealand's only manufacturer and largest marketer of gypsum plasterboard, drywall systems and associated products, operating since 1927, making plasterboard systems under the Gib brand.

Critics say: "Why are you so expensive? Even with $11 freight, Thai board is $19.50/standard sheet yet yours is $25/sheet."

Fletcher says its pricing is competitive and its products high-quality to meet market demand.

Critics say: "Winstone exported a large shipment of Gib to Japan in the last 12 months, depriving New Zealanders of the product.".

Fletcher says: Completely untrue. Gib is only sold in the domestic market.