United States Gypsum Co., a subsidiary of USG Corp., will be closing its Freemont, Calif., gypsum wallboard plant in the second quarter of 2002. The company is also planning to idle the oldest of its three wallboard manufacturing lines in Jacksonville, Fla., and is making other production adjustments throughout its plant network.
The supply of gypsum wallboard exceeds demand in the marketplace, and the company is anticipating that demand will decline further next year. U.S. Gypsum's strategy in constructing its five new plants in Aliquippa, Pa.; Bridgeport, Ala.; East Chicago, Ind.; Rainier, Ore.; and Plaster City, Calif., was to close older, less efficient manufacturing facilities once the new plants were operating smoothly. The company intends to maintain its customer service in those areas.
The Freemont plant has been operated by U.S. Gypsum for almost 20 years.
