Gypsum industry news

US: The Bureau of Land Management is seeking public comment on a proposed expansion of a USG gypsum quarry and associated water lines in Imperial County, California. USG wants to replace an existing water supply line to its Plaster City gypsum wallboard plant. The project will cost US$110m. The comment period will last until early September 2019.

US: Continuus Material Recovery has acquired ReWall, a company that manufactures building products from recycled materials. Continuus uses consumer and industrial paper and plastic waste to produce building material boards for exterior walls and commercial roofs. Its Everboard product uses a plastic and cellulose core.

“With this acquisition we can accelerate waste reduction opportunities through low cost, easily implementable solutions and generate a universal sustainable raw material for a multitude of new products. Design and engineering is underway for an even larger facility where we will be producing hundreds of millions of board feet of building materials, and then we’ll move into other areas,” said Carl Rush, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Continuus Material Recovery.

US: Eagle Materials has approved a plan to spin off its heavy materials and light materials businesses into two publicly traded entities, bowing to pressure from hedge fund Sachem Head Capital Management.

Sachem, which disclosed a 9% stake in Eagle Materials in March 2019, had earlier urged Eagle to separate its cement and wallboard businesses. After the split, Eagle’s heavy materials business will operate as a cement company, and the light materials business will continue to make gypsum wallboard and recycled paperboard.

“We believe that by pursuing the actions announced today the Eagle board is taking significant steps to unlock the company’s inherent value,” said Sachem Managing Partner Scott Ferguson, also commenting on planned changes to Eagle’s oil and gas proppants businesses.

The separation will be by a tax-free spin-off to Eagle shareholders and is expected to be completed in the first half of 2020. Both the new companies will have their headquarters in Dallas, Texas.

US: KPM Analytics has acquired Sensortech Systems. The purchase builds KPM Analytics’ portfolio of near infrared (NIR) technology and adds radio frequency (RF) products. Sensortech Systems’ products are used by customers around the world for real-time moisture measurement in process control across a variety of industries, including gypsum wallboard production. No value for the transaction has been disclosed.

“Sensortech is a natural extension to KPM’s Operating Companies; AMS Alliance, Unity Scientific, CHOPIN Technologies, Sightline Process Control and particularly Process Sensors Corporation” said Chris McIntire, the chief executive officer (CEO) of KPM Analytics.

Colin Hanson, the CEO of Sensortech Systems will remain in post following the acquisition, as will the management team. The company was originally incorporated in 1983. It is based in Oxnard, California.

US: Eagle Materials’ gypsum wallboard and paperboard sales grew by 5% year-on-year to US$634m in the year to 31 March 2019 from US$603m in the same period in 2017. Its gypsum wallboard sales volumes increased by 4% to 246Mm2 from 237Mm². Operating earnings from this division rose by 13% to US$216m from US$191m. Sales were driven by higher sales volumes and prices. Overall, the company’s sales and earnings grew slightly.

US: The Gypsum Association has elected Albert R Zucco as chair of its board of directors for 2019 – 2020. Zucco is the Vice President, Sustainable Supply Chain of USG. Other appointments include CertainTeed’s Gregory McCown as vice-chair, National Gypsum’s Craig Robertson as treasurer and the Gypsum Association's Stephen H Meima as the secretary. Georgia-Pacific’s John Congdon is the part chair of the board. All terms are for one year and are effective from 1 May 2019.

US: Gypsum products distributor GMS has appointed Teri P McClure as an independent member of its board of directors. McClure is currently Chief Human Resources Officer and Senior Vice President, Labor at United Parcel Service (UPS). She is also a member of the Management Committee, which is responsible for setting strategy, profit and operating plans for UPS.

McClure joined UPS in 1995 and has served in various legal and operations positions, including Senior Vice President of Legal, Compliance and Public Affairs, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary from 2006 until assuming her current position in 2015. Prior to joining UPS, McClure practiced law with the Troutman Sanders law firm in Atlanta. She also serves on the Board of Directors for Lennar Corporation, Heart for Africa and The Task Force for Global Health.

US: Germany’s Knauf has completed its acquisition of USG. The company said that the purchase would create, “a global building materials industry leader that will be even better positioned to meet customers' needs by leveraging two highly complementary businesses, product portfolios and global footprints.”

"We greatly admire USG's strong brands, leading market positions in North American wallboard and ceilings, and highly talented employee base,” said Alexander Knauf, General Partner of Knauf. He added that the transaction was the largest acquisition in Knauf’s history.

Knauf agreed to buy USG in mid-2018 for US$7bn. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has approved the deal in late March 2019 subject to asset divestments relating to its Boral-USG joint venture.

Australia: The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has approved Knauf’s acquisition of USG subject to asset divestments. The ACCC’s review focused on competition for the supply of wallboard, joint plaster compounds and treatments, metal profiles, fixed and modular suspended ceilings and insulation.

USG has a presence in Australia through its USG-Boral joint venture, which the ACCC says competes with Knauf and with Armstrong World Industries. The commission requires Knauf to divest USG’s interest in the joint venture, either entirely or just in Australasia, to a buyer approved by the ACCC. If divestiture of the joint venture interest is not achieved within a certain period, Knauf has agreed to divest certain other assets.

“The transactions raised some significant concerns as it would lead to Knauf owning a 50% in the joint venture, which is a significant competitor in several markets, including markets with limited alternatives for customers,” said ACCC Commissioner Roger Featherston.

Each acquisition is subject to review by different international competition agencies given the global nature of the Knauf’s acquisition of USG.

US: Beijing New Building Material (BNBM), Taishan Gypsum and Taian Taishan Plasterboard have reached a settlement agreement of up to US$27.7m in one of its on-going legal cases related to alleged defective gypsum wallboard. This agreement is with not more than 498 plantiffs connected to the Amorin case via the Southern District Court of Florida. Following receipt of the payment the plantiffs have agreed to waive all liabilities with respect to Taishan Gypsum.