Gypsum industry news

US: Louisville's Charah Inc uses by-product gypsum from a local coal plant to make a fertiliser, SUL4R-PLUS, which is used by domestic and international farmers. Charah has now announced plans to expand its operations as demand grows.

In April 2013, Charah opened a US$14m plant at Mill Creek Generating Station in Louisville to produce SUL4R-PLUS after recognising a market for it in the agricultural industry. The sulphur content in local soil has fallen significantly in recent years as high-yield farming has pulled more of it out of the ground.

Charah gets gypsum powder from the Mill Creek facility and makes it into fertiliser pellets using several additives. It then sells the pellets to distributors. SUL4R-PLUS is now used in several states, including Texas, Wisconsin, Florida and other countries, including Canada and the Dominican Republic.

Due to its popularity, company officials have stated that they plan to expand operations with the introduction of a second production line at the Mill Creek production facility. In the future, it could also build production lines at other power plants it works with around the country.

US: USG Sheetrock® Brand UltraLight Gypsum Base Imperial is now being manufactured at six USG plants. The panel is the sixth product in USG's lightweight wallboard portfolio and will be available at retail, specialty dealer and pro-dealer distributors nationwide in September 2014. The launch extends USG's position as the industry's leader in lightweight innovation. The gypsum base panel is used when a project calls for a plaster veneer finish, and is up to 30% lighter than the current ½inch USG Imperial® Gypsum Base panel. The traditional panel will be discontinued upon the launch of the new panel.

US: Continental Building Products (CBP) has announced its results for the second quarter of 2014, which ended on 30 June 2014. Net sales increased by 3.2% to US$103m and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell to US$26.7m from US$27.4m for the same period of 2013.

"During the second quarter we continued to grow our net sales, generate significant cash flow and strengthen our balance sheet," said Ike Preston, CBP's CEO. "Excluding the impact of higher freight costs, our average mill net pricing remained firm compared to the first quarter 2014, as expected. Our overall modest wallboard demand was supported by higher shipments in our US operations that grew by 3.1% compared to 2013. As we look to the remainder of 2014, we remain confident in our ability to maintain disciplined cost control and generate additional cash flow as demand improves."

Average gypsum wallboard prices rose by 4.1% during the quarter. Wallboard volumes rose slightly to 525Mft² compared to 523Mft² in the same quarter of 2013, with a 3.1% increase in US volumes mostly offset by lower volumes in Canada. The second quarter gross profit was significantly impacted by purchase accounting from the acquisition by Lone Star. Gross profit was US$20.9m, down compared to US$25.7m in the same quarter of 2013, primarily as a result of US$7.8m in higher depreciation and amortisation costs from the acquisition.

Operating income was US$12.8m in the second quarter of 2014, down from US$17.2m in the prior year quarter, largely attributable to the impact of higher depreciation and amortisation resulting from the Lone Star acquisition. Net income was US$4.7m for the second quarter of 2014, compared to US$16.7m in the prior year quarter.

US: Stephen H Meima has been named as the executive director of the Gypsum Association. In this position, he leads the organisation's day-to-day operations, oversees its significant contributions to model building codes and standards and ensures that Association member companies and their customers receive vital services, including technical information on the proper selection and installation of gypsum panel products. The Gypsum Association represents all of the active gypsum wallboard manufacturers in the United States and Canada.

"The Gypsum Association has a lengthy history of service to both the gypsum community and the public in North America," said Meima. "I am proud to represent a building materials industry with a tradition of innovation and sustainability and an established commitment to safety and consumer satisfaction."

In addition to serving as the Gypsum Association's director of promotion from 1996 to 1999, Meima returned as CEO in 2013. During the interim, he served within a Gypsum Association member company for over a decade, taking on various marketing and communications leadership roles. Meima also headed marketing and membership at the Design-Build Institute of America.

A LEED Green Associate credential has enhanced Meima's ability to serve building professionals at a time when sustainability has taken on new and growing significance within the industry. In addition, Meima holds an Accreditation in Public Relations from the Public Relations Society of America.

US: USG Corporation has reported its strongest quarterly net income since 2007. Second quarter 2014 net sales of US$948m were up by 3% from second quarter 2013 net sales of US$916m. USG's second quarter 2014 operating profit was US$98m compared to US$74m in the second quarter of 2013. Second quarter 2014 net income was US$57m. This compares to a net income of US$25m in the second quarter of 2013.

"I'm pleased to report our best quarterly results in seven years," said James S Metcalf, chairman, president, and CEO of USG. "Despite slower than expected acceleration in industry opportunity, most of our businesses and products improved their performance from a year ago and we also recorded our first full quarter of operations in our USG Boral joint venture."

The corporation's adjusted operating profit was US$93m in the second quarter of 2014, which includes adjusted equity method investment income of US$6m from USG Boral Building Products, compared to an adjusted operating profit of US$76m in the second quarter of 2013. Adjusted net income was US$48m in the second quarter of 2014 compared to an adjusted net income of US$26m in the second quarter of 2013. Adjusted net income in the second quarter of 2014 excluded, among other items, a US$12m gain on the sale of its New Jersey paper mill, which has been idled since 2009.

"We remain confident in the recovery, but challenges in the macro-economic environment still exist," said Metcalf. "However, we believe that the second half of the year will be better than the first half and we are well positioned to capitalise on the improving opportunity."

US: Eagle Materials has reported financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2015, which ended on 30 June 2014. First quarter earnings before interest and income taxes increased by 21% year-on-year to US$59.8m, as first quarter sales volumes improved across nearly all businesses areas and sales prices improved in all businesses.

Gypsum wallboard and paperboard reported first quarter operating earnings were US$45.0m, up by 27% from the same quarter of its 2014 fiscal year. Improved wallboard sales prices and increased wallboard and paperboard sales volumes were the primary drivers of the earnings increase. Wallboard and paperboard revenues totalled US$136m, an 18% year-on-year increase. The revenue increase reflects higher average wallboard sales prices and higher wallboard and paperboard sales volumes. The average wallboard sales price grew by 11% year-on-year. Wallboard sales volumes of 569Mft² represent a 7% year-on-year increase.

US: China's Taishan Gypsum Co Ltd, which was accused of manufacturing substandard gypsum wallboard, has been ordered not to conduct business in the United States.

The US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana found Taishan in contempt for failing to appear on 17 July 2014 for a hearing related to a US$2.6m judgment that it has refused to pay to seven Hampton Roads families.

The China-based company had previously claimed that US courts did not have jurisdiction in a lawsuit filed by the affected families. After losing that argument in the US 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in early 2014, Taishan chose not to file an appeal with the US Supreme Court. Taishan made no move toward paying the judgment or working out a settlement, so it was called into court to explain its actions.

"We will be pursuing them until hell freezes," said Arnold Levin, an attorney who had argued in New Orleans on behalf of the families.

For failing to appear, Taishan was ordered by US District Judge Eldon Fallon to pay US$15,000 in attorneys' fees and US$40,000 in penalties. He also prohibited the company from conducting business in America and declared that if it did, it would have to forfeit 25% of its profits. Fallon chided Taishan's leaders for participating in the legal process until they lost and then deciding to 'thumb their nose at the court' by not following his orders.

Fallon sent his ruling to the US secretary of commerce, the chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and the US Attorney General's Office to take 'any appropriate action they may see fit.'

US: The board of directors of the Genesee County Economic Development Centre (GCEDC) has approved the final resolution for application for assistance from United States Gypsum (USG).

USG is planning to upgrade its papermill in Oakfield, New York State. The project will include replacing and relocating equipment, stock cleaning and enhanced manila production to improve the safety, quality and efficiency of the facility. The upgrades will consist of three phases and is expected to commence in 2016. The projected capital investment is approximately US$23m and the investment will retain 98 manufacturing jobs and create 12 new production jobs.

US: Tennessee State has launched a crackdown on construction companies classifying full-time workers as contractors in order to avoid taxes and insurance. A US$300,000 fine for misclassifying construction workers may be having a deterrent effect, according to officials with the Tennessee Department of Labour. The penalty was the largest to date in a state-wide crackdown on labelling full-time employees as contract workers.

TJ Drywall of Nashville was making US$2m/yr, but only paying 5% of what regulators say that they should have been in workers compensation and unemployment insurance premiums.

The Labour Department's Scott Yarbrough said that the practice remains rampant in the construction industry. "It upsets me when somebody who is following the rules, paying their insurance and paying their taxes like they're supposed to, is trying to compete with people who aren't."

After seeing the giant fine imposed, Yarbrough said that another business owner in Sumner County volunteered to reclassify his contract workers to avoid a fine. The money collected in fines for misclassifying employees will go toward hiring more investigators.

US: United States Gypsum (USG) will invest US$19m to upgrade its Oakfield paper mill in Genesee County, New York. USG has had operations in Genesee County since 1902. The company decided to invest in machinery upgrades and utility improvements in the Oakfield mill to ensure the future of the mill and retain 98 jobs. It also plans to add 12 new positions.

The Oakfield mill processes 250t/day of old corrugated waste, making it a major recycler in New York State. The facility once made USG's Sheetrock brand wallboard, but that operation closed in 2001. The plant now makes the brown back-side paper for wallboard.

According to New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo's office, the mill has been at risk of closure as other USG plants have the capability to produce more types of paper. The office said that USG qualified for up to US$665,000 in performance-based Excelsior Jobs programme tax credits and a US$400,000 capital grant from the state in return for its proposed US$19m investment and job creation commitments. USG also received a US$180,000 Community Development Block grant from the State Homes and Community Renewal programme and is applying for a grant from National Grid to assist with electrical infrastructure upgrades.

"USG's decision to strengthen its operations in New York is another example that the upstate economy is coming back," Cuomo said. "By supporting this expansion, we are securing and creating more than 100 jobs in the region and paving the way for continued growth by an employer with more than a century of history in Genesee County."