Gypsum industry news

US: USG Corporation (USG) has elected Thomas A Burke to its board of directors. He will serve on the Audit and Governance committees of the USG board of directors. With the addition of Burke, USG's board includes nine independent directors.

Burke has been president and chief executive officer of Modine Manufacturing Company since 2008. Prior to his current role, he served as executive vice president and chief operating officer. Previously Burke served in several leadership positions with Visteon Corporation including vice president, North America and Asia operations, and Vice President, European and South American operations. Burke's experience spans a variety of roles over more than 30 years, including senior engineering and operations positions with other well-known companies such as Ford Motor Company and Deere and Company.

Burke serves on Modine Manufacturing's board of directors. In addition, he is a trustee of Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI), a board member of the United Way of Racine County, a member of the board of regents of the Milwaukee School of Engineering and a director of the National Association of Manufacturers.

Burke holds a bachelor's degree from Purdue University and has completed the Executive Business Program at Northwestern University's Kellogg Management Institute.

UK/Spain: Fermacell has officially opened a new 12MM2/yr gypsum fibreboard plant near Santander in Spain. The Euro30m plant is intended to target growing market demand and increase the company's supply to its European distribution network.

"Increasing market demand and additional sales potential are the main reasons for expanding the production of gypsum fibreboards and the opening of the new factory. Our international sales offices are faced with extensive utilisation of existing factories and the new Spanish plant will improve supply to the UK and other large construction markets across Europe," said Fermacell UK general manager, Gary Carter.

Kazakhstan: Zhambylgypsum plans to start a gypsum production line in the Zhambyl region by the end of 2015, according to the ADM Kazakhstan Capital Restructuring Fund.

"This will be the first such facility in the post-Soviet era. The plant will produce 600t/day of gypsum and 15m3/hr of fluff perlite, 7t/hr of calcite flour and 30t/hr of dry mortar," said Zhambylgypsum head Kaynarbek Kusayynov.

ADM Kazakhstan Capital Restructuring Fund, part of Kazyna Capital Management, provided funds for the project, in particular for the expansion of production capacities and purchase of gypsum calcination equipment. ADM KCRF was set up in 2010 with capital standing at US$100m. Its main investors are the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and JSC Kazyna Capital Management.

US: USG Corporation (USG) has announced two executive organisational changes effective from 1 October 2013. Christopher R Griffin, previously Executive Vice President, Operations is appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, USG Corporation. Jennifer F Scanlon, previously Vice President, USG Corporation and President, International, is appointed Senior Vice President, USG Corporation and President, International. Griffin and Scanlon will report to James S Metcalf, Chairman, President and CEO.

Since joining the company in 1997, Griffin has had responsibility for a variety of functions and departments, including sales, product management, marketing and international operations. He has more than 28 years of experience in the building materials industry.

Scanlon joined USG in 2003 as the Director of Supply Chain Management and Customer Relationship Management Strategy. In 2007, she assumed responsibility for the company's Information Technology strategy and operations until 2010, when she was appointed Vice President, International.

"These organisational changes will facilitate the continued implementation of USG's Plan to Win: Strengthening our core manufacturing and distribution businesses in North America and Diversifying the sources of our earnings, as we continue to Differentiate USG through innovation," said Metcalf.

US: Carbon monoxide (CO) from external sources can easily penetrate gypsum wallboard according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association by Neil B Hampson, James R Holm and Todd G Courtney of the Virginia Mason Centre for Hyperbaric Medicine. The study is believed to be the first to examine the ability of CO to diffuse through gypsum wallboard.

In the study, a plexiglas chamber divided by various configurations of gypsum wallboard was used to determine whether CO diffuses across wallboard. Wallboard of various thicknesses were used. CO test gas was infused into the chamber and then CO concentrations were measured once per minute in each chamber for 24 hours. The authors sought to determine how rapidly a concentration of CO toxic to humans would be reached in the non-infused chamber and whether diffusion would then continue. The researchers found that CO diffused across single-layer gypsum wallboard of two thicknesses, double-layer wallboard and painted double-layer wallboard.

"Gypsum's permeability to CO is due to its porosity. The ability of CO to diffuse across gypsum wallboard may explain at least some instances of CO poisoning in contiguous residences. Exempting residences without internal CO sources from the legislation mandating CO alarms may put people in multifamily dwellings at risk for unintentional CO poisoning," said the study. Carbon monoxide poisoning causes about 500 accidental deaths annually in the US.