Azerbaijan: Construction materials producers manufactured goods worth US$585m in 2014, some 22.2% more than in the same period of 2013, according to the Azerbaijani State Statistics Committee's report. During the period, Azerbaijan produced 2.98Mt of cement, a 40.5% increase compared to the same period of 2013 and 192,800t of gypsum, 23.3% more than in 2013.

US: Paul Johnson Drywall of Phoenix, Arizona has bought a 6500ft² office building for a Las Vegas, Nevada location, with plans to hire up to 100 office and field staff members by the end of the first quarter of 2015. Growing demand in local residential construction spurred the branch.

Paul Johnson Drywall's clients include Pulte Homes and Ryland Homes. Both are involved in two master-planned communities set to break ground on their first homes in 2015. Pulte will build at Skye Canyon, an Olympia Companies master plan in northwest Las Vegas. Ryland will build 179 homes on 76,890m2 in the first phase of Cadence, a revived master plan in Henderson that will have 13,250 homes.

Ron 'Chip' Brown, a 32-year veteran of Nevada's wallboard sector, is the company's local general superintendent in charge of construction services, hiring and sales. Lou Eltringham is executive project manager, assisting in opening the new office and managing payroll.

"The uptick in construction employment in Nevada is another signal that it is an opportune time for Paul Johnson Drywall to expand into the market," said president Cole Johnson. "We look forward to providing the Las Vegas area single-family and multi-family builders with reliable, professional wallboard services."

Switzerland: On 15 January 2015, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) abandoned the Euro1.20 cap on the Swiss Franc, causing market turmoil. However, deals involving domestic companies Holcim and Sika are expected to survive the impact of the shock decision.

Bigger deals are insulated against the effects of the sudden surge in the value of the Swiss currency because the companies involved are able to to buy insurance to protect them against such moves. However, some bankers said that the volatility introduced by the SNB decision to scrap the cap after three years could dampen deal-making in the longer term.

France's Saint-Gobain, which is buying Sika in a Euro2.71bn (2.75bn Swiss Franc) deal and does most of its business in Euros, said that it had covered itself against exchange rate moves.

Sika was one of the companies caught up in a 10% all-in Swiss blue chip stocks on fears over the impact on their exporting power. Sika was down by 7.5% at one point.

US: Building products distributor ABC Supply has acquired the assets of Wameling Drywall, a distributor of exterior building products, wallboard and insulation in Marcy, New York. Doing business as Gilbert Supply, the branch becomes the newest ABC Supply store and is its first in that market.

"The Utica/Marcy area is poised for growth," said Tom Kuchan, vice president of ABC Supply's northeast region. ABC had formerly been serving the Utica/Marcy area contractors from its branches in Syracuse and Schenectady, New York. "With the addition of a branch in Marcy we will be able to meet their needs more effectively and efficiently," Kuchan said.

ABC Supply is a large wholesale distributor of roofing in the US and one of the country's largest distributors of siding, windows and other select exterior building products. It has more than 490 branches nationwide.