Gypsum industry news

US: Temple Inland, soon to be owned by International Paper, has released fiscal results for the third quarter of 2011. These show that gypsum wallboard volumes and revenues were down compared to the second quarter of 2011. Revenues were down from USD37m in the second quarter to USD34m and output volumes declined from 299MMSF to 270MMSF. Gross pricing increased by approximately USD2/MMSF between the two quarters.

US: USG has reported a deepening net loss of USD115m for the quarter ending 30 September 2011, compared to a loss of USD100m for the same period in 2010. Revenue rose 4.4% to USD792m, from USD758m in 2010.

A weak economy has been blamed for low levels of demand for the company's products. "Many of our key markets continue to experience recessionary levels of demand that are near record lows," said President and CEO James S. Metcalf.

USG's operating loss for gypsum in North America expanded to USD70m, from USD43m in 2010. It also had a USD17m operating loss for building products, compared to a USD24m loss in 2010. Its Worldwide Ceilings unit had a USD25m operating profit.

US: USG has taken ownership of about 180 acres in northwest Citrus County, Florida, to warehouse synthetic gypsum from the nearby Progress Energy power plant. Company spokesman Mark Joseph said that USG plans to store the gypsum until it is transported to company plants in North America.

USG received a trustee's deed on 14 September 2011 from the City National Bank of Florida, which owns about 400 acres near Power Line Road. According to the deed USG is the sole beneficiary of the trust.

Joseph said that the company's plans do not go further than storage of the material in warehouses at present. He added that the company has no plans at this time to manufacture drywall at the Citrus County site. "We took possession of the land to make it a storage facility," he said.

Joseph finished by saying that economic conditions require nothing more now than someplace to store and ship the material. However, he wouldn't rule out expansion, "We don't know what the future will bring... The Florida market is not the best right now for housing."

Canada: Cabot Gypsum has relaunched gypsum production at a previously closed facility in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. The company has taken over the plant previously owned by Federal Gypsum, which shut down and went bankrupt in 2008.

Sales manager Reg MacLeod said that Cabot Gypsum acquired the plant's assets earlier in 2011 and is leasing the facility from the government of Nova Scotia. MacLeod says the firm expects significant job growth in about a year after the company becomes better established. He wouldn't say how many workers are currently employed at the plant. The factory is currently providing its product throughout the region, with materials being delivered primarily to building supply dealers.

According to the Global Gypsum Directory 2008-2009, the former Federal Gypsum plant on the same site had a capacity of 25.55MM²/ yr before it closed in 2008.

Vietnam/Indonesia: Lafarge Boral Gypsum Asia, soon to be wholly-owned by Boral, has awarded a new contract to Claudius Peters Projects GmbH Germany for two gypsum calcining lines with a capacity of up to 30t/h to expand its gypsum wallboard production in Asia.

In Vietnam a fully-integrated line will be installed at the site of Lafarge Boral Vietnam Gypsum Co. Ltd near Ho Chi Minh City, extending the capacity of the current wallboard production line. The second line will be installed in Indonesia and will be part of an extension programme of the Cilegon installation of PT Petrojaya Boral Plasterboard.

Both of the lines consist of a Claudius Peters Mill EM59-585 along with the auxiliary equipment and controls of a complete raw material handling, gypsum calcining and cooling system.