Gypsum industry news

Bulgaria: Bulgarian building materials maker Gips has launched a Euro8m factory for the calcination of natural gypsum in the north-western province of Vidin. Company officials announced that the new factory has a capacity of 80,000t/yr and has improved energy efficiency by 38% compared to the old factory.

Bulgarian construction company Montagengineering built the plant and the equipment was supplied by Germany's Claudius Peters Projects. The project was co-financed with Euro1.8m from the European Union funded operational program 'Competitiveness' while Gips provided the remainder from own funds.

Gips, Bulgaria's sole producer of natural gypsum, was set up in 1965. It intends to boost its exports, as it currently sells some 90% of its output on the domestic market according to its executive director Plamen Vassilev. The company currently exports to Serbia and is considering entering the Romanian market. The new factory and the company's nearby gypsum mine employ a total of 224 people.

UAE: Gyproc Middle East has launched a new wallboard that actively removes volatile organic compounds (VOC) from the air in indoor environments. Activ'Air board incorporates a mineral-based additive into its gypsum core that captures VOCs such as toxic formaldehyde and converts them into harmless inert aldehydes.

"Initial discussions with building owners and developers have shown there is already significant interest for these products in the education and healthcare sectors," said technical development manager Jason Hird. Gyproc Middle East is marketing the product as a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to traditional powered air filters. The new technology is available across a range of existing Gyproc products.

US: From the start of 2013 Progress Energy Florida has contracted to sell its entire output of synthetic gypsum produced at its Crystal River Energy Complex in Florida to United States Gypsum (USG).

Crystal River 4 and Crystal River 5, the two newest coat burners at the energy complex, produce 450,000t/yr of synthetic gypsum. Scrubbers were added to Crystal River plants 4 and 5 in 2009 and early 2010. Currently the byproduct is sold for use in making wallboard, cement and fertiliser.

A conveyor belt will be constructed to move the material from the Crystal River power complex to USG's adjacent property. USG purchased the 72ha site in 2011. It announced at the time it would be a storage facility to warehouse synthetic gypsum from the power plants.

Spokesman Scott Sutton from Duke Energy, owner of Progress Energy, emphasised that contract is for USG to take the synthetic gypsum to their property and store it until they ship it or use it. "One customer will remove it all; if we produce more they will have to take it and we have to produce a certain amount. It is a good deal for both of us."

"It is still pretty early in the process yet," said USG spokesman Bob Williams, referring to the plans for the Crystal River property. "It has gone beyond the design stage but construction has not started yet. It is not expected to be complete until sometime in 2013." He added that Crystal River will only be a transfer site and USG has no near-term plans to build a manufacturing plant at the site.

US: USG Corporation (USG) has announced the election of Matthew Carter Jr. to its board of directors. Carter will serve on the Audit and Governance committees of the USG board of directors. With his addition, USG's board now includes nine independent directors.

Carter is President, Sprint Global Wholesale & Emerging Solutions at Sprint Nextel Corporation. His leadership and experience spans more than 20 years across diverse industries with major companies such as Bristol Myers, Coca-Cola and Leap Wireless. Heavily involved in the telecommunications sector through his career, Carter holds a bachelor's degree from Northwestern University and a master of business administration from Harvard Business School.

"We are pleased to welcome Matt Carter to our board," said Jim Metcalf, chairman of the board, president and CEO of USG Corporation. "His history of leadership, vision, innovation and business transformation will be valuable assets as USG continues to create its own recovery and emerge as a stronger company."

US: A US federal judge has ruled that Taishan Gypsum Co, a Chinese wallboard manufacturer, must face claims over its allegedly tainted product, which has been blamed for causing foul odours, the failure of appliances and health problems. The ruling means homeowners will be able to pursue claims against the Chinese firm in US courts, increasing the pressure for a settlement similar to that reached between plaintiffs and Knauf in 2011.

Judge Eldon Fallon of New Orleans denied motions by Taishan to dismiss four lawsuits filed by homeowners whose properties were allegedly affected by faulty drywall. Fallon also denied a request by Taishan to vacate a US$2.6m default judgment that he levied against the company in May 2010 after it had failed to make appearances in one of the cases. The ruling is the latest victory for plaintiffs in hundreds of drywall lawsuits that have been consolidated in the New Orleans federal court.

After Fallon entered the US$2.6m judgment against Taishan, the company's lawyers made appearances in the case and argued that the court lacked personal jurisdiction over the company because of its lack of contacts with the United States.

"We believe that the court was in error for all the reasons reflected in our papers and discussed at the hearing," said Joe Cyr, an attorney for Taishan.