National Gypsum Announces New Joint Compound Plant

National Gypsum Company, a leading producer of gypsum wallboard and drywall finishing products, announced it will open a new joint compound manufacturing facility on June 1 in Belcamp, MD, 30 miles north of Baltimore and midway between Philadelphia and Washington, DC. The company also announced it is closing its joint compound manufacturing operations in Baltimore.

National Gypsum has invested $15 million in the new plant which has two fully-automated production lines, including robotics and two state-of-the-art mixers. The plant will employ 25 associates at startup. It will provide the full line of ProForm® brand finishing products including joint compound, setting compounds, textures and tape.

“This is the largest investment National Gypsum has made to date in our drywall finishing products business,” said CEO Thomas C. Nelson. “Belcamp will have the largest joint compound capacity in the NGC network.”

“We have steadily grown capacity to meet customer demand for ProForm brand products over the last five years,” added Craig Weisbruch, senior vice president, Sales & Marketing.

Last year, National Gypsum added a second line to its Atlanta drywall finishing products plant and upgraded equipment at its Jasper, IN, and Orlando, FL, facilities. The company also produces joint compounds in Rensselaer, NY; Dallas, TX; and Long Beach, CA.

“We believe Belcamp is ideally positioned to service the major metropolitan markets in the Atlantic and Northeast regions as well as our growing presence in international markets,” said General Manager Stokes Ritchie. “This plant is opening with highly experienced management and key staff selected from other National Gypsum facilities where they have been successful. The Belcamp plant will have the capabilities to produce the highest quality product in the industry.”

Headquartered in Charlotte, National Gypsum is a leading supplier of wallboard, interior finishing products, and cement board to the construction industry. Its industry- leading ProForm brand drywall finishing products provide innovative solutions to contactors and remodelers throughout the U.S. National Gypsum has a network of 40 facilities in North America, including its own paper mills and gypsum mines and quarries.

April 4, 2007