US: Kodiak Building Partners, in a switch from its past practice of buying established companies, has announced the creation of a new business: Freedom Materials, a distributor of wallboard and related materials in Newark, Delaware. Freedom will be led by Silvio Ferrari, who Kodiak CEO Steve Swinney said 'brings nearly 25 years of excellence in serving customers in the building materials industry.' Freedom will be Kodiak's first operation in the Mid-Atlantic. Its other gypsum companies are New England Building Supply, Colorado's Jones-Heartz Drywall and the Dallas-Fort Worth area's Architectural Opening Professionals.
