Fletcher Building trademarked plasterboard colours in 'clear blocking tactics', developer says

Wednesday, 15 June 2022

Fletcher Building has apologised after a Canterbury builder captured video evidence of Gib stockpiling at a Fletcher Living construction site in Lincoln.

When housing developer Simplicity Living ordered foreign plasterboard to combat a nationwide Gib shortage, it says it was told it was not allowed to import blue plasterboard because the colour was trademarked by Fletcher Building.

As well as blue, it said, Fletcher Building had trademarked the colours mauve, green and pink, in what Simplicity Living managing director Shane Brealey said he believed were “clear blocking tactics”, to protect its monopoly of 94% of plasterboard production in New Zealand.

Fletcher Building chief executive of building products Hamish McBeath, said while the company held trademarks for specific shades of blue, green, mauve and pink, it had not trademarked generic colours.

“The trademark of colours is simply to differentiate Gib plasterboard products. There is absolutely nothing stopping other plasterboard manufacturers from using a different shade of blue, mauve or green should they chose to do so,” McBeath said.

But Brealey said, in his opinion, the trademarked colours showed the company was more focused on preserving its position than helping the building sector.

Simplicity Living did not import plasterboard in a colour trademarked by Fletcher Building, but Brealey said if the company tried to stop its imports he “would welcome the legal action”.

Simplicity Living managing director Shane Brealey says Fletcher Building could be doing more.

When Simplicity Living announced it was importing foreign plasterboard it offered to share details on how to import Gib substitutes with other businesses.

It has now fielded requests from more than 68 businesses, including from four major developers that each built over 700 homes a year, Brealey said.

Brealey said it was “ridiculous” that Simplicity Living had to find a Gib alternative for the construction industry, instead of Fletcher Building finding a solution itself.

“Fletcher Building know the global plasterboard industry inside and out. They could have found a solution.

“We found a solution in three months.”

A spokesperson for Fletcher earlier said Winstone Wallboards, a subsidiary of Fletcher that manufactures Gib, had been exploring the possibility of importing plasterboard from Australia from August onwards.

Despite this, the company’s long-term focus remained on domestic Gib production, he said.

Winstone Wallboards, the subsidiary of Fletcher Building that manufactures GIB, own a 94% market share of plasterboard production in New Zealand.

Housing Minister Megan Woods’ office confirmed that addressing the plasterboard shortage was one of the Government’s top priorities.

“The minister directed officials several weeks ago to look into what could be done to alleviate the impact on construction projects. MBIE has been working with the Construction Sector Accord, Master Builders and the Building Industry Federation to find a way through the current situation,” a spokesperson said.

MBIE was working with Building Consent Authorities (BCAs) to treat substitution of plasterboard products as a minor variation to consents, she said.

There was also engagement with the wider building industry to encourage appropriate substitution of plasterboard products, and further options to manage the plasterboard shortage were being explored.