Knauf

Knauf Gips KG
IndustryBuilding materials
Founded1932; 92 years ago (1932)
Headquarters
Iphofen
,
Germany
Number of locations
150 (2012)
Subsidiaries
Websiteknauf.com

Knauf Group is a multinational, family-owned company based in Iphofen, Germany, well known for drywall gypsum boards, founded in 1932. The company is a producer of building materials and construction systems comprising construction materials for drywall construction, plasterboard, cement boards, mineral fibre acoustic boards, dry mortars with gypsum for internal plaster and cement-based external plaster and insulating materials; glass wool, stone wool and other insulation materials under the company Knauf Insulation.

It has more than 150 production sites worldwide.[1] It is one of the six producers which hold approximately 81% of the worldwide wallboard market (Georgia Pacific, Knauf, Siniat, National Gypsum Company, Saint-Gobain, and Yoshino Gypsum Co., Ltd).[2]

In 2022, after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, Yale University published a list of companies that chose to remain active in Russia. According to this report, over 600 companies have withdrawn from Russia — but some remain. Knauf is still operating across 14 sites in Russia but has claimed to have suspended new investments.[3]

In November 2023 Ukraine listed Knauf as an International Sponsor of War for promoting mobilisation in Russia by sending its employees to the war against Ukraine.[4]

According to German public-service broadcaster ARD, Knauf has been active in collaborating with the Russian military in its construction efforts in the Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.[5][6]

  1. ^ "Knauf site". Knauf.com. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
  2. ^ "Lafarge Annual Report 2007" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2020-02-18.
  3. ^ "Over 600 Companies Have Withdrawn from Russia—But Some Remain | Yale School of Management". som.yale.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
  4. ^ "Ukraine adds German Knauf to list of war sponsors". 24 November 2023.
  5. ^ "Putins Helfer". 3 April 2024.
  6. ^ "German firms help 'rebuild' Russian-occupied Mariupol: report". 4 April 2024.