Gypsum industry news

US: Legislation intended to better regulate the use of wallboard in homes and buildings is headed to the desk of US President Barack Obama, several years after the emergence of the 'toxic' Chinese wallboard saga.

The US House of Representatives approved the Drywall Safety Act of 2012 on 1 January 2013, amid the chaos regarding the 'fiscal cliff.' It approved the measure on an overwhelming 378-37 vote.

In December 2012 Senator David Vitter successfully pushed a Senate amendment to loosen some of the bill's language and to win the support of the National Association of Home Builders, which had previously opposed the bill. Once the bill was amended, it sailed to congressional approval.

"Many families were faced with the nightmare of building or repairing their homes with toxic wallboard after Hurricane Katrina and I want to make sure this doesn't happen again. This is good news for homeowners that we were able to pass this swiftly before the new Congress starts," said Vitter on 2 January 2013. "This legislation will make sure unsafe wallboard won't be sold in the future and that wallboard manufacturers are held accountable."

The Drywall Safety Act sets chemical standards for domestic and imported wallboard, and also establishes guidelines for its disposal. The bill allows the Consumer Product Safety Commission to set rules to ensure that existing 'toxic' wallboard is properly disposed of. The legislation also requires all wallboard used in the country to be labeled with the manufacturer's name.

Belarus: A Russian company is ready to invest Euro40m towards building a 20MM2/yr gypsum wallboard plant on the outskirts of Minsk, according to Belarus' Deputy Architecture and Construction Minister Dmitry Semenkevich. An existing plant at OJSC Belgips will be relocated to the new site in the town of Gatovo that will free up space within Minsk. The new plant is expected to reduce energy consumption by 25%.

US: On 13 December 2012 USG Corporation, its subsidiary United States Gypsum Company and seven other wallboard manufacturers were named as defendants in a purported class action complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois by Sierra Drywall Systems, on behalf of itself and others similarly situated.

The complaint alleges, among other things, that the defendants unlawfully conspired to fix the price for gypsum wallboard sold in the United States through price increases for the years 2012 and 2013 and the elimination of job quotes. USG believes that the suit is without merit and has denied that it participated in any alleged conspiracy or has engaged in unlawful conduct.

US: Georgia-Pacific has announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire the assets of the Temple-Inland Building Products business from International Paper. The purchase price is US$750m and the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals. The acquisition is anticipated to close in the first quarter of 2013.

As part of the transaction International Paper will sell 16 production facilities including four gypsum wallboard facilities, five solid wood mills, four particleboard plants, two medium-density fibreboard plants and one fibreboard factory. The sites are located across eight US states, mainly in the southeastern and eastern parts of the country.

"These high-quality assets with teams of talented employees are strategically located near large, growing regions of building products customers and will fit well into our existing operations," said Jim Hannan, Georgia-Pacific chief executive officer and president. "This will allow us to expand our geographic footprint and enhance our service to new and existing customers."

Russia: Turkish gypsum-industry supplier Erişim Makina has opened an office in Moscow. The Moscow office will liaise with the company's head office in Ankara and it is responsible for the coordination of sales and CRM activities in Russia, Ukraine and the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States). In an accompanying statement, Erişim Makina announced that by establishing a presence in Russia it aims to target companies and investors 'at home' and in their native language.