Gypsum industry news

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.

Australia: Construction materials company Knauf has appointed Mark Norris as the managing director of its Australian division. Prior to this, Norris spent 11 years managing Knauf's North Asia Pacific business, eventually becoming general manager for Greater China.

"Mark's significant experience in the construction industry and his authoritative knowledge on Knauf's systems and solutions, is invaluable in driving growth in Asia Pacific and establishing Knauf as a full system provider of innovative products and systems in Australia," said Jan Kreibaum, CEO Asia Pacific.

In 2011, Knauf purchased Lafarge's gypsum business in Australia. It has two manufacturing facilities, over 220 employees and a national distribution network in the country.

Russia: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has announced that it will consider additional investment and increased shares in the French building materials company Saint Gobain at its next board of directors meeting on 18 December 2012.

In a recent press release the EBRD stated that it will consider increasing its investment in the share capital structure in the Russian market leader leader to Euro24.3m and increase the current share of the bank in the Russian company to a maximum of 33%. The EBRD currently owns 11.19% Saint-Gobain Construction Products RUS.

Investment Bank will finance the majority of the planned investment programme of Saint Gobain Construction Products RUS, which will be implemented from 2013 to 2017. For the investment programme of the Russian units Saint Gobain will need Euro340m in this period.

The investment programme includes the development of a gypsum plasterboard plant in Nizhny Novgorod, as well as the construction and upgrade of existing plants. The project includes investments in companies in various regions and cities of Russia, such as Nizhny Novgorod, Arzamas, Yekaterinburg and Chelyabinsk.