Eurogypsum, the European Manufacturers Association for Plaster and Plasterboard Products, has chosen Jörg Ertle as its new President. The association’s Board of Directors unanimously elected the Head of Corporate Social Responsibility of the Belgium-headquartered company Etex for a two-year presidency. This election was announced on the occasion of Eurogypsum’s 60th anniversary congress in Brussels on 28 April 2022.
Jörg Ertle will succeed in this role to Emmanuel Normant, Vice-President for Sustainable Development for the Saint-Gobain Group, who will take over the position of Vice-President of Eurogypsum, therefore ensuring full continuity in the leadership of the association. Christoph Dorn, Managing Director of Knauf Group Central Europe and Chairman of the Management Board of Knauf Gips KG, becomes the new Treasurer of the EU association.
Ertle, a German citizen, graduated in mining and mineral engineering from the RWTH University Aachen and holds a PhD in environment technology from the Berlin Technical University. He has over 20 years’ experience in the gypsum industry, having held managerial positions in the supply and manufacturing activities of Lafarge, later acquired by Etex. After being in charge of the group’s worldwide gypsum sourcing until 2019, Ertle became the Head of Corporate Social Responsibility of the Etex Group.
The new president has long been involved in Eurogypsum’s activities as member of the different working groups in charge of raw material policies and chairing the association’s Environment and Sustainability Committee for the past four years.
Commenting on his election, Ertle said: “I am taking over Eurogypsum’s presidency at a challenging time for Europe, with global climate and environmental challenge, as well as a particularly unstable international environment. Economic actors are working under increased regulatory and financial pressure. I am convinced that gypsum solutions are a strong enabler to facilitate this transition, supporting the ambitions of the European Green Deal and to provide Europeans with the comfort, technical performance, aesthetics and safety of light-weight construction they deserve for their living and working places”.
Eurogypsum is committed to promoting a sustainable built environment in Europe. Gypsum is a natural product used to manufacture plaster and plasterboards, which are widely used in buildings all over the world. Plasterboards, which are easy to install and dismantle, are particularly valued for their fire protection, sound, and thermal insulation properties. They can also store and release humidity according to the ambient air quality. Eurogypsum has long been involved in projects to improve the quality of buildings and close the loop between production, span of use, recycling and reuse of plasterboards; gypsum having the unique property of being infinitely recyclable.
Emmanuel Normant, the incumbent president, said: “I am delighted to have Jörg as my successor. I know his engagement in promoting Europe’s sustainability agenda throughout our industry, including in his previous capacity as our association’s responsible committee chair. I am convinced that he will help our sector to support the EU’s policy ambitions in the most constructive and positive way, together with our Secretary General Tristan Suffys.”
Ertle added: “I would like to thank Emmanuel Normant for the work accomplished over the past two years, where our association had to adjust to the new realities of a global pandemic and its social and economic consequences. In these challenging times for industrial sectors, Emmanuel maintained Eurogypsum’s focus on sustainability, among others with the signature of a European code of conduct on the protection of species in extractive activities, endorsed by the European Commission. I will be committed to continue this path in the years to come”.