Gypsum industry news

China: Beijing New Building Materials has announced that its holding subsidiary Taishan Gypsum will spend more than US$39.3m building two gypsum wallboard plants and one cement retarder project using industrial by-product gypsum.

Taishan Gypsum will build one of its wallboard plants in the Shanghang Jiaoyang industrial park in Longyan City, Fujian Province. The project is estimated to cost roughly US$18.6m, of which US$5.6m will be raised by the company itself and US$13m from a bank loan.

US: USG Corporation (USG) has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement for the sale of its wholly-owned European business operations to affiliates of Gebr. Knauf Verwaltungsgesellschaft KG for approximately US$80m. The amount is subject to adjustment based on working capital and net debt levels at the closing of the deal.

The businesses being sold include the manufacture and distribution of Donn brand ceiling grid and Sheetrock brand finishing compounds throughout Europe, Russia and Turkey.

"While USG's European operations have been performing well, we prefer to focus our investment in higher growth markets," said James S Metcalf, Chairman, President and CEO. "We contacted more than 60 potentially interested parties, including both strategic buyers and private equity firms, and decided to sell the businesses following a thorough evaluation that produced strong interest. We're pleased with the value we are receiving for this group of assets."

US: Eagle Materials Inc has reported a 29% rise in total revenue for the first quarter of the 2013 fiscal year which ended on 30 June 2012. The North American building materials producer noted revenue of US$154m for the quarter, up from US$120m in the same period in 2011.

Eagle's gypsum wallboard sector reported a 36% increase in revenue to US$70.2m from US$51.3 in 2011. Improved wallboard net sales prices were the primary driver of the quarterly earnings increase in the company's gypsum wallboard and paperboard division. Sales volumes increased by 11% to 42.5MM² from 38.3MM².

Uzbekistan: Dry gypsum mixture producer Bukharagips JV OJSC has released its financial results for the 2011 calendar year, which show a net loss of US$1.0m in 2011 against a loss of US$0.3m in 2010.

The company decreased production of construction-grade gypsum by 39.6% from 14,027t in 2010 to 11,373t in 2011. The enterprise increased production of crushed stone gypsum by 8.2% to 208,180t. Production of dry construction mixtures rose by 156.3% from 5240t in 2010 to 13,428t in 2011.

The company's net revenue came to US$3.7m in 2011 against US$2.6m in 2010. Its expenses grew from US$1.8m in 2010 to US$2.92m in 2011.

US: Federal District Court Judge John E Steele has issued orders dismissing all claims against National Gypsum in the Brincku and Brucker lawsuits, which had claimed that National Gypsum's US-made wallboard had caused the same corrosive effects in the plaintiffs' homes as allegedly defective Chinese wallboard.

The lawsuits alleged that the company manufactured defective wallboard, which contained high levels of sulphur, released hydrogen sulphide gas from bacteria and corroded copper and other metals inside their homes. Unrebutted scientific evidence provided by the company proved this was not the case.

"We are extremely pleased that our company's products and reputation have been completely vindicated," said CEO Thomas C Nelson. "This ruling confirms what we have said all along: National Gypsum wallboard is a high-quality, safe and environmentally-sound product. Every single false allegation has been rebutted by sound science from the nation's leading laboratories and safety experts."

The court's ruling concludes a long saga which began in 2009. In response to the allegations, the company engaged Packer Engineering and Columbia Analytical Services, two independent testing laboratories, to conduct elemental sulphur, copper corrosion and gas chamber tests on the company's wallboard. Other professionals also tested the air, water and surrounding environments of the homes. These results were consistent with studies done for the Consumer Products Safety Commission by the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Environmental Health & Engineering.

The dismissal of the Brincku and Brucker lawsuits is the latest in a series of similar cases that have been thrown out of court. In April 2011 an Arizona putative national class action case against National Gypsum was voluntarily withdrawn after the plaintiffs admitted that there was no scientific or causal evidence to support it. In October 2011, an Alabama lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice, meaning the plaintiffs are barred from bringing the same claim against the company in the future.