Gypsum industry news

US: USG’s operating profit fell by 7% year-on-year to US$367m in 2017 from US$394m in 2016. Its net sales rose by 6% to US$3.2bn from US$3.02bn. In the fourth quarter the company reported that wallboard volumes in the US increased approximately by 14% while prices declined by 4% year-on-year. It made a net loss of US$95m in the quarter, in part due to a US$138m income tax expense resulting from the Tax Cut and Reform Bill.

“We had an outstanding close to a solid year for USG. The combination of focused operational performance by our manufacturing facilities and a high level of service to our customers enabled us to profitably grow our business, with net sales increasing by 13% and adjusted operating profit by 10%,” said Jennifer F Scanlon, president and chief executive officer of USG.

US: National Gypsum, Eagle Materials and PABCO Building Products have agreed to pay US$125m to settle claims that they fixed the price of gypsum wallboard. A preliminary motion to approve the settlement is scheduled to be filed in January 2018, said David Young, a partner at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, a lead plaintiffs’ firm in the litigation, according to the Legal Intelligencer newspaper. The legal firm and others are representing wallboard customers, including distributors and installers.

The three wallboard producers are the last of seven defendants of a lawsuit that started in 2013. Previous deals with Lafarge North America, Temple Inland and USG bring the total amount of settlements for direct purchasers in the case to over US$190m. A seventh company, CertainTeed, was granted summary judgment in 2016.

Belgium/US: MoistTech and Belgium’s Weighing & Inspection have announced a strategic partnership to provide moisture measurement capabilities for manufactured materials to customers in the Benelux region. The partnership is intended to improve productivity and streamline operations for customers by implementing near-infrared (NIR) technology for moisture measurement and control. An initial primary focus will be developing a joint marketing capability.

“MoistTech is excited to partner with Weighing & Inspection to enhance our delivery of new features to the moisture measurement industry. This will enable us to become more efficient and reduce costs for a larger audience,” said Adrian Fordham, President of MoistTech.

US: USG plans to upgrade its Jacksonville gypsum wallboard plant in Florida. As part of the investment, a new production line will be added to manufacture USG’s Securock ExoAir 430 panels. Investments will be made at the site to improve overall plant efficiency, including upgrades to modernise process mill equipment.

Construction and plant updates are expected to be completed by the end of 2018. The company also plans to add approximately 20 new jobs as a result. The addition of the high-speed, automated production line in Jacksonville is intended to allow USG to distribute Securock ExoAir 430 to more customers throughout the US and Canada.

US: USG’s operating profit for its gypsum business has fallen by 4.5% to US$85m in the third quarter of 2017 from US$88m in the same period in 2016. The gypsum wallboard producer blamed this on falling prices, rising input costs and poor weather. It said that the average realised selling price for US wallboard decreased by approximately 2% sequentially and was impacted by freight costs and changes in wallboard product mix due to hurricanes Harvey and Irma. US wallboard manufacturing costs also increased by US$10m due, primarily to increased waste paper costs. Despite this, overall net sales for the quarter increased.

“We had positive momentum in the third quarter, with increased net sales and wallboard volume,” said Jennifer Scanlon, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of USG.

Gypsum segment net sales rose by 5.4% to US$2bn for the first nine months of 2017 from US$1.9bn in the same period in 2016. Operating profit fell by 14% to US$266m from US$310m.

US: Sensortech Systems is looking for client companies to run extended trials of its new Kiln Jam Detector KJD-7000. Part of the trial will be to test the functionality of the sensor and, over a period of some months, check reliability and stability. Another part is to receive input from users as to what features need to be incorporated, particularly in the software design.

The company says that its new radio frequency (RF) gypsum wallboard jam detector product offers a saving compared to previous sensors. The RF sensor requires no maintenance and is unaffected by siloxane build-up or other debris. The Kiln Jam Detector KJD-7000 uses a custom-designed coaxial cable able to withstand the high operating temperatures.

The sensor itself follows the design of open-frame planar sensors used for moisture measurement. The outer frame is formed from 16ga stainless steel; ceramic insulators isolate a stainless-steel centre electrode to which the high temperature cable is attached. The electronics unit is located outside the dryer at each deck level. An on-board 32-bit ARM-Based micro-controller processes signals from up to three sensors and networks via RS-485 to a dedicated programmable logic controller (PLC).

The system software is set to trigger an alarm when either no product is detected over the sensor for a pre-defined time interval, a blockage upstream, or if a failure to detect gaps between boards over a pre-defined time is recognised. All sensors in an array are node addressable on an RS-485 network. If an anomaly occurs at any sensor, the exact position will be known including which deck and its position on the deck (left, right, centre).

Sensortech will be displaying its new kiln sensor at the Global Gypsum Conference & Exhibition taking place in Krakow, Poland on 25 – 26 October 2017.

US: Saint-Gobain has appointed Mark Rayfield as the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of its subsidiary CertainTeed. He will also serve as the Region CEO of Saint-Gobain Construction Products for North America.

Rayfield has worked as the CEO of Saint-Gobain Building Distribution United Kingdom and Ireland since 2013. He started his career with Saint-Gobain in 1999 in a sales role within Abrasives North America, before assuming the role of Vice President of Saint-Gobain Abrasives North America from 2007 to 2011. Prior to moving to the UK, Rayfield was President of the CertainTeed Siding business from 2011 - 2013.

He succeeds Benoit Bazin, who has served as president and CEO of CertainTeed since January 2017. Bazin will continue to serve as president and CEO, Saint-Gobain’s Construction Products Sector and Senior Vice President, Saint-Gobain Corporation.

US: USG’s Washingtonville gypsum wallboard plant in Pennsylvania plans to spend US$8m towards automation upgrades in 2017. Plant manager Nicholas Latkovic told the Daily Item newspaper that the company also expects to spend US$8m or higher in 2018. The upgrade will include 20 automated guided vehicles and automated board handling equipment to speed up the production process by 20%. The investment is also expected to add four or five people to the total workforce of 125.

US: Continental Building Products' Palatka wallboard plant in Florida has endured Hurricane Irma without any serious damage to the facility. The site is about 30 miles inland of St Augustine and it employs over 125 workers. It closed for the storm to allow employees to prepare themselves and their families. However, it didn't lose power and 'sustained essentially no known damage'. Continental Building Products has announced it will donate US$25,000 to the American Red Cross to support the relief effort.

US: Gypsum Management & Supply, Inc. (GMS), a distributor of gypsum wallboard, suspended ceiling systems and interior construction products, has acquired ASI Building Products, LLC, a provider of ceilings and building products. Both the companies are based in the US. Following the transaction, ASI Building Products majority owner and industry veteran Dave Mayer, along with the entire ASI team, will continue on with GMS going forward.

The acquisition will allow GMS to expand its presence in Michigan, with a portfolio of quality products and reinforces its commitment to customer service.