Gypsum industry news

Switzerland: Sika has received an appeal by Schenker-Winkler Holding against a ruling by the Cantonal Court of Zug on 28 October 2016 that blocked the sale of Burkard-Schenker's shares to Saint-Gobain. At the time Saint-Gobain said that it still wanted to buy Sika and that its agreement with the Burkard family is valid until June 2017, with an option to extend it until December 2018.

China: 19 people have been prosecuted for misconduct related to the collapse of a gypsum mine in Shandong Province in December 2015 that killed one worker and left 13 persons unaccounted for. Yurong Company, owner of the mine, bears the principal responsibility for the incident, for failing to monitor and safely maintain the mine, according to the Xinhua news agency. Poor risk awareness and safety control, as well as inadequate regard for possible dangers in room-and-pillar mining were also causes the of the collapse. Yurong has been fined US$0.43m.

Three mine controllers, believed to be liable for the fatal accident, have been arrested by local police and two officials from the local land and resources bureau were found guilty of dereliction of duty. 14 other local officials have also been punished for violating the Communist Party rules. Ma Congbo, president of Yurong, who committed suicide after the accident, will not be subject to criminal liabilities.

Switzerland: The board of directors of Sika has offered to buy out the stake of the Burkard-Schenker family in order to end a battle caused by the family's intention to sell its controlling stake to Saint-Gobain. Sika's chairman Paul Haelg announced plans to buy the family shares, in an interview with newspapers NZZ am Sonntag and Schweiz, saying that after a two-year dispute it has become obvious that no solution can be reached if all sides work against each other.

The announcement follows a ruling by the Cantonal Court of Zug on 28 October 2016 that blocked the sale of Burkard-Schenker's shares to Saint-Gobain. The family holds 16.4% of the capital and 52.6% of the voting rights of Sika. Saint-Gobain reacted to the ruling by saying that its board of directors continues to want to buy Sika and that agreement with the Burkard family is valid until June 2017 and can be extended until December 2018.

US: Louisiana's attorney general Jeff Landry says he has cancelled contracts with attorneys involved in state suits against Chinese gypsum wallboard companies, and is auditing nearly US$7m worth of contracts. Landry said he's auditing the billing and work under five contracts to see what they've done to help Louisiana's case. His office will take over the work, according to Associated Press.

"The state has spent nearly US$7m on outside legal counsel for the Chinese drywall litigation," said Landry. "This use of taxpayers' hard-earned money comes to an end under my watch." He added that payments to the firms ranged from nearly US$5.6m to the Perkins Coie law firm to US$101,700 to the Theriot Group.

Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin and four companies it supplied agreed in 2010 to pay for home repairs relating to damage caused by Chinese gypsum wallboard used mainly in the south of the US. District Judge Eldon Fallon has ruled that Taishan Gypsum must pay damages, and is considering the amount.

China: The Ministry of Justice has returned a lawsuit in which thousands of US homeowners say a 'cabinet-level' agency should pay for damage to their homes from alleged defective wallboard made in China. The ministry says it won't serve the legal papers because the agency is immune to such lawsuits and the legal service would infringe upon China's sovereignty.

US District Judge Eldon Fallon has ruled that Taishan Gypsum Company must pay for damages from the wallboard it made. The judge is considering damages for up to 4000 homeowners in six states. The brief letter from Beijing became part of the court record this week, about 21 months after lawyers for the homeowners sued the state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, which oversees 117 state-owned companies. It was dated 8 April 2016.

Fallon ruled in 2010 that Taishan's wallboard emitted sulphur gas that damaged the homes of seven 'bellwether' plaintiffs from Virginia, making occupants ill, corroding copper, silver and other metals, damaging appliances and electronics, and stinking up the houses so they were "hard if not impossible to live in." The other states involved in the lawsuit include Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, according to Associated Press.

New Zealand: The Commerce Commission has completed its investigation into allegations that Winstone Wallboards Limited, a subsidiary of Fletcher Building, acted anti-competitively to maintain its market position in the manufacture and supply of wallboard. Based on the evidence gathered during the investigation, the Commission does not believe that Winstone has breached the Commerce Act 1986 and it will not be taking any further action.

"We have completed a thorough investigation and there is no evidence to suggest that Winstone has breached the Commerce Act in any of these areas," said Commission Chairman Mark Berry.

The Commission's investigation was centred on three areas: Winstone's alleged exclusive agreements with merchants, the rebates Winstone pays to merchants and Winstone's alleged practice of undercutting other wallboard suppliers on jobs. The initial investigation was completed in April 2014 and followed by additional interviews and further investigation.

US: A Florida-based property development built with 'defective' Chinese wallboard has reached a US$22m settlement with the manufacturer, supplier and installer, according to its attorney.

The settlements mark the first time a multifamily structure has received compensation under the multi-district litigation in New Orleans federal court, which consolidated Chinese wallboard lawsuits from the individual homeowner to the wallboard makers, said attorney Greg Weiss of Palm Beach Gardens. Weiss has represented the owners of 320-unit Villa Lago at Renaissance Commons in Boynton Beach.

Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin reached a global settlement in the litigation to pay for the repairs. It is estimated Knauf will have to pay US$10.2m to repair Villa Lago. A previous US$4.6m settlement had been reached with the builder, RJR Holdings II LLC, Boynton Beach. In a twist, RJR Holdings was both a defendant and a plaintiff after developing the property and still owning 130 units.

US: More than a dozen lawsuits alleging price-fixing on the part of major manufacturers of wallboard have been consolidated in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The location was chosen as most of the parties are located in the area and a majority of the parties advocated for consolidation in that district. US District Judge Michael Baylson will handle the case.

"From at least September 2011 to the present the defendants, manufacturers of gypsum board, combined and conspired to fix and raise the prices at which they sold gypsum board in the United States beginning with large and coordinated price increases that all became effective on or about 1 or 2 January 2012," according to the complaint filed in one case originating in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Janicki Drywall versus CertainTeed.

Major manufacturers of wallboard have annual sales of more than US$5bn, according to the complaint and the defendants are seeking treble damages. The defendants in the suit account for more than 99% of wallboard sold in North America, according to the complaint. They are USG, National Gypsum, CertainTeed, Georgia-Pacific, American Gypsum, Lafarge, Temple-Inland and PABCO.

In a previous status conference for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania cases, Steven Bizar of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney was named as interim liaison counsel for the defence, while H Laddie Montague Jr of Berger & Montague had been named interim liaison counsel for the plaintiffs.

India: The Directorate General of Anti-dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) has recommended that India impose an anti-dumping duty of up to US$73.8/m3 on imports of gypsum plasterboard from China, Indonesia, Thailand and UAE to protect domestic producers. The recommendation excludes certain varieties of fire-resistant boards.

The DGAD's recommendation comes on the basis of its findings that increased imports have caused 'material injury' to the domestic industry. Mumbai-based Saint-Gobain Gyproc India had filed a petition for imposing anti-dumping duty on behalf of the domestic industry. The directorate has recommended different set of duties that range between US$12.3/m3 and US$73.8m3.

The DGAD, which is under the jurisdiction of the Commerce Ministry, said that the boards have been exported to India below its normal value from these nations. However, it said that fire heat boards, impact boards, gypsum ceiling boards with moisture barrier, heat boards, anti-mould boards, thermal boards, gypsum ceiling boards with aluminium edges sealed in white film and ceiling tiles may escape the restrictive duty.

US: United States Gypsum (USG) has applied for a permit to withdraw up to 2.11 million litres/day of water for a gypsum plant near Crystal River in Florida. However, company spokesman Robert Williams said that the plant is not planned in the immediate future.

USG's permit application is pending with the Southwest Florida Water Management District. The district has sent USG a letter seeking more information to make sure that the planned withdrawals won't cause salt-water intrusion or otherwise harm the groundwater.

In 2011 USG purchased 72 hectares near the Progress Energy Florida power complex north of Crystal River to warehouse synthetic gypsum that is created by scrubbers at the coal-burning plants. Progress, whose parent company is Duke Energy, has a contract to sell the gypsum to USG, which is planning to build a warehouse sometime in 2013 to store the product until it is shipped to a wallboard manufacturer.

"USG proposes to construct a state-of-the art facility that is projected to bring 130 new jobs to the area and will incorporate water conservation to the greatest extent feasible," the company's consultant, Progressive Water Resources, wrote in its application letter to the water district. The letter requests a 20-year permit and states it is still negotiating for easements to the well sites and a pipeline that would transport water from the well to the manufacturing centre.