From a family companyto a family of companies
The company established in 1932 in Perl an der Mosel in Saarland by the brothers Dr. Alfons Knauf and Karl Knauf, Gebr. Knauf Rheinische Gipsindustrie was the nucleus of the Knauf Group which operates worldwide today.
Company profile
Operating more than 150 production sites worldwide, today Knauf is one of the world's leading manufacturers of building materials.
Knauf has a workforce of 23,000 in 40 countries and in 2008 the company generated sales will amount to 5,6 billion Euros.
Generally
The roughly 1.1 billion ton reserves of raw stone provides the individual plants with a safety margin for the future that spans the generations. Worldwide a total of 60 stone quarries and mines are in operation. In addition to this, numerous plants are supplied with synthetic gypsum which is generated when the flue gases from coal-fired power plants are desulphurised.
Knauf started to go international as early as the beginning of the Seventies of the last century and the trend has continued until today. Today Knauf produces and sells its products in all European countries.
Furthermore, there are factories located in North and South America, in the CIS states, in Turkey, in China and in Indonesia.
Drywall constuction
The products range from the traditional plasterboard to the production of conveying machinery for construction site logistics, including the segments of gypsum plasters for interior and exterior use, insulation materials made of glass fibres or expanded polystyrene.
The wide-ranging assortment also includes gypsum fibre boards for walls and floors as well as a variety of ceiling systems, the major constituents of which are either mineral fibre boards, gypsum boards or metal panels.
The beginnings of drywall construction reach back as far as 1958. This was the time when the first gypsum board factory was built by Knauf in Iphofen . Since that time this sector has continuously been extended and further developed from a technological point of view. The constant, organic growth and by taking over the Danish company DANOGIPS in 1992 and NORGIPS in 2004 in Norway, it has been possible for the Knauf Group to further consolidate its position in the market. Today over 40 factories provide a production capacity of over 1.0 billion square metres.
Gypsum plasters
The origin of the Knauf Group is inseparably interwoven with the production of gypsum plasters. What began with the production of gypsum-bound hand-applied plasters in the early Thirties of the last century, has meanwhile developed into a wide-ranging product segment. The range consisting of gypsum, lime and cement – bound plasters supplies state-of-the-art problem solutions for indoor and outdoor appications.
Insulation materials
Whereas in earlier times the sectors of dry construction – and here we mention plasterboard as the primary product – and gypsum plasters were the traditional areas of activity of the Group, meanwhile the insulation materials segment has developed into a further mainstay of the Group.
The foundation stone for this was laid in 1978 when a glass fibre manufacturing company in Shelbyville, USA, was taken over. Today the company bears the name Knauf Insulation USA and operates a total of four production sites in the United States.
The production of insulating materials on the basis of glass wool and mineral wool becomes more and more important. For about 30 years, the company has gained experience in the production of glass wool in North America. Within the last 5 years, Knauf has acquired 10 glass wool and mineral wool factories throughout Europe and additionally built new plants in Eastern Europe and Russia.
Injektion moulding/moulded parts
What began with the takeover of smaller companies has now become an independent product segment. Moulded parts made from expanded polystyrene for packaging and injection moulded parts for the automotive and entertainment electronics industries are manufactured chiefly in France. Across the board in all product segments, the Knauf brand stands for top quality products and comprehensive service. Together with dealers, users and architects an intensive partnership is nurtured in each market. This partnership is enhanced by the decentralized structure of the Knauf Group. A customer-oriented approach was and is one of the main maxims in the actions of all Knauf employees.
