Gypsum industry news

South Korea: USG Boral plans to increases production at its Dangjin, South Chungcheong wallboard plant by at least 30Mm². Currently the plant, operated by USG Boral Korea, has a production capacity of 70Mm². Work on the upgrade will start in the fourth quarter of 2016 and the extra manufacturing lines are expected to be fully operational by the end of 2018, according to the Korea Times.

US: USG has sold its gypsum mine in Empire, Nevada to the Empire Mining Company for US$10.3m. The Empire Mining Company purchased the mine and associated land on 27 May 2016, according to land records accessed by the Reno Gazette-Journal. USG shut the mine in late 2010 and the locale has since been described as a 'ghost town'. USG has not commented on the sale.

US: Owens Corning has dedicated a new plant for manufacturing glass fibre non-wovens in Gastonia, North Carolina. The plant will produce a glass veil that can be used to make gypsum wallboard, carpet and ceiling tiles and vinyl flooring and can be used in automotive applications. The unit is also capable of producing Sustaina veil products that use a bio-based, formaldehyde-free binder system.

"Our investment in Gastonia encompasses the most advanced glass veil manufacturing technologies – with the ability to make a broad range of products for diverse customers – a sustainable footprint and a highly trained workforce," said Suman Raha, general manager of Non-Wovens - North America, Owens Corning.

Oman: Kunooz Oman Holdings has appointed Scott Watson as its new general manager for Al Rawas Mining Co. Watson is a mining engineer who graduated from the Camborne School of Mines with a BSc in Mining and a master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Ulster in 2006.

Watson has previously worked for four years as a general manager at Yeoman Halsvik, a subsidiary of LafargeHolcim, producing and shipping aggregates to northern European and other offshore markets. Prior to this he was a senior manager at Lagan Group in Ireland, the UK and Poland working on aggregates for road surfaces. He has also worked as a mining engineer with Anglo American Corp in South Africa.

US: Eagle Materials has reported that its revenue rose by 7% year-on-year to US$1.14bn in the financial year that ended on 31 March 2016 from US$1.07bn in the previous period. Its earnings fell by 18% to US$153m from US$187m.

By business sector its gypsum wallboard operating earnings rose by 9% to US$159m from US$146m. Its wallboard sales volumes rose by 8% to 222Mm² from 205Mm².