Meeting

Report

 
TOM NELSON
National Gypsum Company
by Henry Bostic
      
Who knew that gypsum slurry sandwiched between two layers of paper and dried in a kiln would be such a hit at Charlotte Rotary Tuesday, but then it’s not often that a speaker’s show ‘n tell includes wallboard panels and a wooden club. The demonstration definitely brought out the little boy in several Rotarians, as they couldn’t wait to try out the capabilities of National Gypsum Company’s (NGC) new Hi-Impact® BRAND XP™ Wallboard after the meeting was over. The new Gold Bond product stood up again and again in attacks from Rotarians who hammered away at it versus a traditional wallboard sample that stood no chance.
 
Speaker Thomas C. Nelson, chairman and CEO of National Gypsum, brought the demonstration as part of his presentation about the Charlotte-based producer gypsum wallboard, interior finishing products, and cement backer board for the construction industry. National Gypsum, a private held company, is the second leading producer of wallboard in the nation, said Nelson, with about 23 percent of market share. Though its roots go back to Buffalo, NY, in 1925, the company’s headquarters – then named Gold Bond – moved to Charlotte in the late 1970s.
 
Nelson, who joined the company in 1995 as executive vice president and chief financial officer, said NGC makes Gold Bond wallboard in 20 plants. It also produces 70 million gallons of ready mixed joint compound in seven plants, as well as tape, plaster and other products for building and finishing interior walls. One of its newest products is cement board, which is produced in four plants. It is used in applications where there is lots of moisture, said Nelson, primarily in kitchens and baths.
 
What makes NGC able to survive and thrive in the domestic manufacturing of an undifferentiated commodity, asked the White House Fellow who served as assistant to the secretary of defense for special projects from 1992-93 and was awarded the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service. One reason, he said, is quick delivery. National Gypsum’s network of plants near most major metro markets and raw materials means it can get wallboard to where it’s needed quickly. The primary reason, however, Nelson said, is that NGC is vertically integrated. It controls its raw materials and production so it is in control of the process from start to finish.
 
Very few people have ever heard of hydrous calcium sulfate, said Nelson. And even fewer are aware that hydrous calcium sulfate is gypsum, the rock nobody knows. Gypsum "boards" are formed by sandwiching a core of wet plaster between two sheets of heavy paper. When the core sets and is dried, the sandwich becomes a strong, rigid, fire-resistant building material.
 
According to the graduate of Stanford and Harvard universities, NGC owns eight quarries in Canada and the U.S. and four paper mills all using recycled paper. One of the quarries is in Nova Scotia. It has been producing gypsum since 1954. Said Nelson, 30 percent of the building east of the Mississippi has wallboard made from that single quarry.
 
The company is also a leader in customer service and manufacturing excellence, he said. “Every day we deliver 1,100 semi truck loads of wallboard from our plants. That’s enough to circle the globe 13 times.”
 
In the past 10 years the company has plowed back some $800 million for capital investments in production, technology and research and development, Nelson said, resulting in near perfect production with 99.996 percent perfect on the first pass. That happens in a “safety first” environment. Last year the company’s safety record was better than the banking industry in the service sector, he quipped.
 
In recent years the company has teamed up with electric power generators to make wallboard from recycled byproduct gypsum generated from sulfur dioxide scrubbers in coal-fired plants. The company already operates plants in Pittsburgh and Tampa and has signed an agreement with Duke Power to develop a plant at the company’s Marshall Steam Station in Catawba County. The plant will begin production in 2007, Nelson said, and supply wallboard to our growing Southeast market.
 
Another area where National Gypsum is trying to differentiate its brand is in new products. Nelson cited three. Hi-Impact® BRAND XP™ wallboard, the product which was demonstrated at the meeting, withstands rough treatment. XP™ wallboard is treated with anti-bacterial properties to fight the growing problem of mildew and mold. In response to contractor requests, National Gypsum introduced GridMarX™, which comes with its own guide marks, printed every inch right on the paper surface. Contractors can now instantly find the fastener line for studs and make accurate cuts without having to draw any lines.
 
Nelson attributed some of the technology gains to NGC’s having moved its research and development from its former location in Buffalo to Charlotte. R & D is in a building on the former Celanese property near SouthPark about a mile from the company’s headquarters near The Park Hotel.
 
Nelson noted that the market is right for building material manufacturers. “We sell everything we make.” Plants are running at full capacity. He attributed the favorable market to low mortgage rates (2 million new starts annually), remodeling of existing homes and a commercial market that is rebounding.
  
Head Table:
Dick Reiling, John Tabor, Catherine Browning, Marilynn Bowler, John Phillips, Lee Tabor
        
Visitors and Guests:
Invocation: Henry Bostic; Visitors & Guests: Kitty Stutts; Song: David Erdman   

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