US: Continental Building Products’ net sales increased by 8% year-on-year to US$387m in the first nine months of 2018 from US$358m in the same period in 2017. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 13% to US$111m from US$98.8m. Its wallboard sales volumes grew by 7% to 67Mm² from 62.6Mm². it attributed the growth in sales volumes to ‘strong’ demand in its markets.

India: NTPC has ordered flue-gas desulfurisation (FGD) systems from Japan’s Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems for its Mouda-II and Rihand-II & III coal-fired power plants. This is the first order of a limestone-gypsum FGD system for the Indian market, according to JCN Newswire. The installations are scheduled for completion in 2021 and 2022 respectively. No value for the order has been disclosed.

These projects are ordered through MHPS' Indian subsidiary and included engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) arrangements. The order comprises two 660MW units for the Mouda-II plant, and four 500MW units for the Rihand-II & III plant, for a combined output of 3320MW. The FGD systems will be additional installations to the existing power generating facilities, supporting the design of a spray-type desulfurisation system handled by MHPS' Indian subsidiary.

US: The Gypsum Association has revised its GA-216 Application and Finishing of Gypsum Panel Products technical document. It has been revised in 2018 to fit a three year cycle to coincide with the 2021 code revision cycle and to better align with the Association’s other code-referenced documents, namely GA-600 Fire Resistance and Sound Control Design Manual and GA-253 Application of Gypsum Sheathing. GA-216 is referenced in the International Building Code (and other I-Codes) as well as NFPA 5000 as a standard for the application and installation of gypsum panels.

The 2018 specification provides appropriate installation methods for the various types of gypsum panels. New to the 2018 specification is clarification of language on steel studs and abuse-resistant and impact resistance panel products and updated criteria for panel installation over concrete. Direct adhesion to concrete is no longer acceptable; panels must be installed on framing. Also, GA-223 Gypsum Panel Products, Types, Uses, Sizes, and Standards has been added to the appendix as a reference to ASTM standards and Gypsum Association publications that provide additional information and specifications.

US: Eagle Materials’ sales revenue from gypsum wallboard rose in the first half of its financial year to 30 September 2018 due to higher prices. Its revenue from wallboard grew by 9% year-on-year to US$272m from US$250m. Its wallboard sales volumes increased by 3% to 124Mm² from 121Mm². The building materials producer said that Hurricane Florence had disrupted its southeastern markets reducing salese in the second quarter. Overall, the company’s sales across all businesses rose.