Gypsum industry news

US: Beta LaserMike, a leading global provider of precision measurement and control solutions, will be giving a technical paper presentation at the upcoming 11th Global Gypsum Conference & Exhibition, which is being held on 17-18 October 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The paper is entitled 'New non-contact, laser-based gauge for measuring length and speed of gypsum board' and will be given by Stuart Manser, Western District Manager for Beta LaserMike. His presentation will provide a technical overview of non-contact laser measurement and describe the advantages of these over contact-type methods for gypsum board production applications. In addition, Beta LaserMike will be demonstrating the advantages of its LaserSpeed non-contact encoder over contact-type measurement methods for gypsum board processing on exhibition stand 27.

The LaserSpeed system uses advanced, laser-based technology to precisely measure the length and speed of gypsum board during production without making contact with the product. The laser encoder projects a unique pattern on the surface of the product. As the product moves, light is scattered back to LaserSpeed. This information is translated into product speed and pulses are produced to determine the product length. Length and speed measurements are captured with better than +0.05% accuracy and 0.02% repeatability.

India: Saint-Gobain Gyproc India is planning to strengthen its gypsum business in India with an investment of up to USD100m over the next three years. The company plans to focus more on emerging markets, including India, for future growth.

"Saint-Gobain's gypsum division has said it will focus more on the emerging markets for its future growth and India is one of them. In the next three years, we may invest USD82 –100m to strengthen our operations here", said Saint-Gobain Gyproc India Managing Director V Subramanian. He added that the company will primarily focus on enhancing its existing production capacities besides setting up new facilities in the country.

"We have already invested about USD61m since 2006 and the future investment will be more as the country provides huge opportunity to grow," Subramanian stated. When asked about revenue Subramanian said, "In 2010 we clocked USD82–100m turnover. We are aiming to double this in the next three years."

USA: USG has announced that its chairman, William C Foote, will retire from the company on 1 December 2011. The USG board of directors has elected James S Metcalf, USG's President and Chief Executive Officer, to the additional post of Chairman of the Board effective upon Foote's retirement.

"It has been an honour and a privilege to lead this great company for the last 15 years," said Foote. "I have great confidence in the company's leadership team and its future. I will sincerely miss the many friendships I have developed throughout the company and the industry over the years. I will always be grateful to our board of directors for their steadfast support and wise counsel."

Foote has served as USG's chairman since 1996, after having been elected chief executive officer in 1995 and president in 1994. Foote has nearly 27 years of service, having joined USG in 1984. The youngest chairman in USG's 109-year history, Foote successfully led the company through periods of rapid growth, severe economic contraction and a Chapter 11 bankruptcy related to legacy legal liabilities.

Under Foote's leadership, USG launched a large-scale modernisation of its manufacturing operations in the late 1990s that added more than 1.5Bnm² of low-cost wallboard manufacturing capacity. Foote also directed the expansion of USG's specialty distribution business, L&W Supply Corporation, which now has more than 150 locations and is the only specialty dealer of building materials with a nationwide presence.

He also helmed the firm through the company's legacy asbestos liabilities and led the company through a Chapter 11 restructuring to protect shareholders from a wave of lawsuits. In a Wall Street Journal article at the time USG emerged from bankruptcy, Warren Buffet called it, "the most successful managerial performance in bankruptcy that I've ever seen." Buffett's investment company, Berkshire Hathaway Inc., owns a 16.2% in USG.

Metcalf, who joined the company in 1980 as a trainee, was elected to the USG Board of Directors in 2008 and became chief executive officer on 1 January 2011. Foote remains chairman of the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

Uzbekistan: Germany's Knauf International GmbH has opened its gypsum wallboard plant in Kagan, Uzbekistan. The project, which is run by Knauf Gips Bukhara, was built at a cost of around USD51.1m. Construction started in 2008 and was completed in June 2011. To date, the company has been operating the 20MM2/yr plant in test mode. The project is the second by Knauf in Uzbekistan.

India: Preparations are reported to be 'in full swing' towards the commissioning of a new fibre-glass-reinforced gypsum wallboard and building materials plant at Kochi by Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore and Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers, Mumbai.

Engineers from Rapid Building Systems, Australia, the technology provider for the project, have been in Kochi over the past month putting the finishing touches to the plant before commercial production begins later in 2011. A test run to produce the large building boards has been successful and further tests are being carried out at present.