Aragon hosts one of Europe’s largest gypsum reserves, a material often called white gold due to its lasting recyclability and rising demand. A Pladur-owned factory sits in Gelsa, near the mines it serves in this town and in Pin as de Ebro. About five years after starting up, the leading Spanish producer’s facility has reached full capacity, expanding its laminated drywall output to 30% of production, equal to 25 million square meters last year. The plant currently operates at roughly 83% of its 30 million capacity and employs around a hundred workers, dedicating its entire output to exports, especially to France and the United Kingdom.
Belonging to the Belgian group Etex, the company also operates a larger facility in Valdemoro (Madrid) and is considering expanding its most modern 10-hectare industrial complex. The Zaragoza site manages 30 hectares of land for future developments. The company is prioritizing factory sustainability and moving toward a circular economy model.
Pladur’s industrial complex spans 10 hectares in Gelsa, a footprint highlighted in official materials and celebrated in a photo caption. It includes a central recycling initiative focusing on drywall, part of a broader strategy to reduce waste and improve resource use.
The strategy centers on a central drywall recycling facility launched nine months ago with a two million euro investment. This new plant processes defective products that leave the factory, which account for 3 to 5% of total production, with an aim to process 4,000 to 6,000 tons in the first year and scale to 30,000 to 40,000 tons by 2030 as a waste manager partner.
Enrique Ramirez, Pladur’s managing director, stated during a public visit that Aragón is the heart of plastering in Spain and will be a hub for Europe. Marta Blasco, the factory manager, joined the occasion. The Gelsa facility is notable for its geostrategic position, sitting between Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, and Bilbao, which supports its focus on foreign markets. Ramirez emphasized strong growth potential and hinted at future expansions to meet national demand, though details remain undecided at this time. The response from European markets was acknowledged as a key factor in planning.
Zero-waste facility
The Zero Waste facility involved an investment near 60 million euros. It was originally scheduled to open at the end of 2008, but the construction crisis delayed the project. It finally began operations in 2016, featuring a warehouse that produces specialized products and energy-efficient systems. In September 2018, the plaster and laminated product factory opened its doors.
Recent upgrades include photovoltaic roof panels and an eight-megawatt self-consumption system, designed to meet up to 20% of the site’s electricity needs. The plant is a pioneer in zero-waste production, powered by its own recycling center and renewable energy. In energy terms, Pladur plans to decarbonize production by gradually replacing natural gas with greener fuels. The Madrid factory will pilot green hydrogen next year, with plans for biogas in Gelsa by 2025. Renewable gas from pig-farm waste in Lleida is also on the horizon, with decarbonization Perte support anticipated.
Four shifts and a hundred trucks a day
The facility runs around the clock, four shift patterns, totaling 105,000 square meters of production each day for plasterboard plates. Maintenance breaks are short and scheduled during summer and Christmas. Daily truck traffic is heavy, with roughly a hundred vehicles entering and leaving the site. About 95% of Gelsa’s output goes to the UK and France, while the remaining 5% serves Ireland and Italy. Exports to the UK leave through Bilbao port, arriving by rail and delivering domestically in France via road.
In 2022 the installation contributed about 25% of the company’s total revenue, exceeding 215 million euros. Pladur is a leading brand in Spain for sustainable construction solutions based on natural plaster. The group employs hundreds of workers and operates in Spain, France, and Portugal, with a presence in more than 30 countries across five continents.
The region’s plaster industry has long shaped Aragón’s economy. Gelsa has emerged as the epicenter for two major players in this market. Beside Pladur, Saint-Gobain Placo Ibérica runs another operation in the area, employing around 100 workers there and a second production center in the nearby Quinto de Ebro employing 110 more. These figures illustrate the gypsum sector’s importance as a resource and employment hub for the region, underscoring Aragón’s reputation for high-purity gypsum and strong export potential—an asset given Europe’s growing demand in the coming decade.
Enrique Ramirez praised the purity and consistency of the gypsum in the region during a visit to the Gelsa plant, noting a yearly capacity of 30 million square meters of plasterboard production. The combination of high-quality mineral reserves and strategic location continues to drive growth in Aragón’s plastering industry.