Canada: Gypsum Technologies Inc (Gyptech) will officially open its new corporate headquarters in Burlington, Ontario on 17 October 2013. The global supplier of wallboard process equipment and engineering services has built a new 2040m² headquarters to meet corporate growth objectives and long-term goals. The company's manufacturing facility will remain in Mississauga, Ontario.

"We look forward to getting into the new building where we have a modern facility and the improved quality of life that Burlington offers," said Gary Murray, President and CEO of Gyptech.

US: USG Corporation has entered into a Solar Energy Power Purchase and Sale Agreement (PPA) with Green Light Plaster City Solar 1 (GLPCS1) to install a solar facility at its Plaster City, California manufacturing plant. The 1MW photovoltaic (PV) system is intended to provide USG with more predictable energy costs until the 2030s.

Through the PPA, GLPCS1 and local engineering firm ZGlobal, will install solar cells on three hectares of the Plaster City site. Installation began in September 2013 and should be completed by December 2013.

"We are always looking for opportunities for our plants to use solar energy, and it made a lot of sense to move forward with this renewable energy investment at our manufacturing plant in Plaster City," said Al Zucco, senior director, Energy and Sustainability, USG.

Currently the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) supports and provides all of the USG plant's energy. IID rates are expected to increase at an unknown rate, but with the PPA USG will have predictable pricing for energy produced by the solar PV system.

In addition to improving the environmental profile of USG's Plaster City plant, the project is expected to save the company more than US$1m over the 20-year life of the project through lowered electricity costs.

Austria: Starlinger, a technology supplier for woven plastic packaging production and plastics recycling, is opening its factory and showrooms in Weissenbach on 14 – 16 and 21 – 25 October 2013. Packaging producers and plastics recyclers will have the opportunity to see the latest models of the Starlinger machine range in operation.

Highlights on show include the new lamiTEC coating and lamination line that features roll change at full production speed and increased output, the RX 8.0 circular loom for heavy-duty fabric weaving, the conversion line ad*starKON SX+ and the newly developed linTAPE tape winders with linear drive technology for smooth winding and gentle tape treatment.

US: The Gypsum Association has released GA-227-13, 'Recommendations for the Prevention of Ceiling Cracking', a publication outlining methods to mitigate cracking in large-span wallboard ceilings due to fluctuations in temperature and humidity.

GA-227-13 explains that ceiling cracks can appear at gypsum board joints when the span between framing members approaches or exceeds 4.5m. The centreline cracks can occur because materials such as gypsum wallboard and wood framing shrink and expand at different rates due to periodical changes in moisture content and temperature. To address the issue, the document details how resilient channels can reduce the occurrence of cracking.

"The methods for the use of resilient channels described in this document have been shown to be very effective in preventing ceiling cracks due to swings in temperature and moisture content of wood framing - particularly in long spans," said Robert Wessel senior director of technical services for the Gypsum Association. "The swings usually occur during a change in season from summer to winter or in dry areas such as desert environments."