Simplicity blasts Fletcher Building for lack of Gib

Thursday, 9 June 2022

Shane Brealey says the Gib shortage should have been predicted.

Property developer Simplicity Living says it has cancelled all its orders for Fletcher Building Gib board and is instead directly importing plasterboard because it is cheaper.

The company, owned by KiwiSaver provider Simplicity, is building homes intended for the rental market.

It said it could source equivalent plasterboard for $19.50 a sheet, compared to $25 for Gib.

The equivalent of Gib Aqualine is being imported at 40% less.

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Simplicity said a container had recently arrived, eight weeks after it was ordered. An order had been placed for two containers a month for the next three years.

Simplicity Living managing director Shane Brealey said the imported plasterboard was widely used in the United States.

Some builders have had problems replacing Gib board with other plasterboard because councils have to be satisfied that the material meets the requirements of the building code.

Competitors have previously expressed frustration that architects specify ‘Gib’ as if it were a generic term for plasterboard, and council inspectors are inflexible about allowing builders to swap it out.

Brealey said Simplicity had more flexibility because it was producing three-storey concrete structures from engineered design. The commercial building sector had more flexibility than timber framing residential developments, he said. Because it was not using bracing Gib systems, it was easier to sign off.

'It's tragic that it takes only eight weeks to get much needed plasterboard from South Asia, but eight months from south Auckland,” he said.

'By looking at building consents, Fletchers must have known there would be a shortage of plasterboard at least 12 months ago. So why aren’t they doing what we’ve just done?' he said.

Property developer Simplicity Living said it could source equivalent plasterboard for $19.50 a sheet, compared to $25 for Gib.

Without adequate supplies of plasterboard, it was hard for builders to finish homes.

Last month, Fletcher Building asked builders across Aotearoa not to order Gib plasterboard until their site was ready for it to be installed, to ensure orders could be fulfilled where needed amid the national building materials shortage.

“It’s just crazy that we have to import a product as basic as plasterboard to build desperately needed homes on time,” Brealey said.

“How is it that we have concrete, framing, doors, windows, roofing, hardware and everything else required - but we have a problem with the simplest of products - Gib board?”

Hamish McBeath, chief executive of building products at Fletcher Building, said it supported initiatives undertaken by other businesses to supply plasterboard to the industry.

“We understand the increased demand for plasterboard impacting supply is frustrating. Winstone Wallboards is doing as much as it can to increase the amount of plasterboard to the industry.

“This includes operating our two manufacturing plants 24/7 and dispatching enough plasterboard for installation in 1000 new average sized New Zealand homes per week. Despite producing plasterboard at record levels, industry demand is still outstripping production capacity.”

He said Winstone was also looking at ways to boost the plasterboard supply, including importing from Australia.

“We recently worked with Etex Australia to provide standard plasterboard, which we imported for around six months. The agreement including [Winstone Wallboards] supplying raw materials and expertise to Etex to ensure the plasterboard we received from them met our 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. However, we have recently been advised there may be an opportunity to recommence this arrangement from August onwards.

“We are continuing to explore this and other opportunities to alleviate the current shortage of plasterboard in the market.”

He said a new plasterboard manufacturing facility was on track to be finished by next June.

“The new plant will significantly increase production output and will have the capacity to meet the demand levels we are seeing today.”