China: The Ministry of Justice has returned a lawsuit in which thousands of US homeowners say a 'cabinet-level' agency should pay for damage to their homes from alleged defective wallboard made in China. The ministry says it won't serve the legal papers because the agency is immune to such lawsuits and the legal service would infringe upon China's sovereignty.

US District Judge Eldon Fallon has ruled that Taishan Gypsum Company must pay for damages from the wallboard it made. The judge is considering damages for up to 4000 homeowners in six states. The brief letter from Beijing became part of the court record this week, about 21 months after lawyers for the homeowners sued the state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, which oversees 117 state-owned companies. It was dated 8 April 2016.

Fallon ruled in 2010 that Taishan's wallboard emitted sulphur gas that damaged the homes of seven 'bellwether' plaintiffs from Virginia, making occupants ill, corroding copper, silver and other metals, damaging appliances and electronics, and stinking up the houses so they were "hard if not impossible to live in." The other states involved in the lawsuit include Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, according to Associated Press.

US: USG has launched USG Securock Brand UltraLight Glass-Mat Sheathing, a lightweight gypsum wallboard designed for use under exterior claddings. The board has a coated fibreglass facer mat to maximise coverage of air/water barrier systems, it has a treated gypsum core with a fibreglass face and back to provide water resistance and USG say it meets or exceeds the requirements of ASTM C1177.

"Our customers are always looking for innovative products to give them an edge, which is why USG is focused on bringing our gypsum panel technology to the glass-mat category," said Greg Salah, senior vice president, USG Corporation and president, North America. Securock will be rolled out regionally.

US: USG's net sales have risen by 7% year-on-year to US$970m in the first quarter of 2016 from US$909m in the same period in 2015. Its operating profit rose by 67% to US$127m from US$76m. The building products company reported sales growth across its gypsum wallboard, ceilings and distribution businesses.

"We're off to a strong start in 2016, with arguably the best quarter we've had in almost a decade," said James S Metcalf, Chairman, President, and CEO. "We realised significant operating margin expansion in all of our US operations, led by our ceilings business which turned in an all-time record quarter."

The corporation's gypsum business saw its net sales rise by 10% to US$635m from US$577m. Its operating profit rose by 63% to US$111m from US$68m.
Wallboard sales volumes rose by 20% while the wallboard price was down roughly 2% on differences in mix and the timing of price increases. The corporation reported that a 28 March 2016 wallboard price increase has driven price improvement in wallboard through the first three weeks of the second quarter of 2016.

The USG Boral business generated US$7m of equity method income in the first quarter of 2016, down US$1m from the first quarter of 2015 due to poor exchange rates.

Uzbekistan: Knauf is planning to invest Euro40m to expand production of gypsum boards and gypsum-based mortars, Dmitry Deripalko, the director-general of Knauf Gips Bukhara, has said. Knauf operates a gypsum wallboard business and a gypsum-based mortar company in Uzbekistan, according to Uzbekistan Daily.

The gypsum wallboard plant run by Bukharagips will be expanded first with a 30% increase in production capacity to be completed by early 2017. Then a new plant will be built at Knauf Gips Bukhara to increase production of gypsum-based mortars. Deripalko said that the project will be paid for via re-investment. Around Euro10m will be spent on construction and the remaining Euro30m on buying equipment. Kanuf also plans to launch a floor gypsum boards in the country.

Bukharagips produces 25Mm²/yr of gypsum wallboard. Knauf Gips Bukhara produces up to 60,000t/yr of mortars.