Lafarge North America Inc. announced that it will invest approximately $75 million to substantially upgrade and double the capacity of its gypsum drywall manufacturing facility in Buchanan, N.Y. The new production line will operate at manufacturing standards, producing 650 million square feet of gypsum wallboard annually to meet demands of the company's residential and commercial customers in the Northeast region. The renovation is expected to begin mid-2005 and scheduled for completion in mid-2006.

Johns Manville has created an opportunity for the Berkshire Hathaway Co. to increase capacity for its line of Formaldehyde-free glass fiber building insulation products. Johns Manville will add up to 200 million pounds between now and 2006, as customer demand increases.

EIMA has teamed with the U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Building Technology and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the Charleston, S.C., School District to establish a Natural Exposure Test Facility at the Baptist Hill High School, in Hollywood, S.C., for a joint three-year analysis to determine optimal EIFS performance.

The Province of Prince Edward Island has formally adopted the latest editions of two key National Fire Protection Association safety codes. The 2003 edition of NFPA 1, Uniform Fire Code and the 2003 edition NFPA 101, Life Safety Code have been adopted by an Executive Council Order, which became effective in November.

The Florida Building Authority has approved the application submitted by Vinyl Technologies Inc. for statewide use of the V Buck vinyl block-out system for homes built with insulating concrete forms.

The judges at the Best Installer in America have named Jorge Perez of Sierra Insulation, of Corona, Calif., the winner at its the second annual contest held at Johns Manville in Denver. The company competed among five contestants from around the country. Johns Manville sponsored the program for InsulateAmerica, a national co-op of independent insulation contractors with more than 180 locations in 45 states. InsulateAmerica contractors were able to compete at regional contests in Kansas, California, New Jersey and Georgia, in an effort to identify the top installers who exemplify quality workmanship, safety and productivity.

Decoplast Systems Inc.'s two product lines, Decoplast acrylic stucco and Fresco Venetian plaster, were featured on NBC's television program "The Apprentice." The show aired on Nov. 4.

Susan VerBurg, president and CEO of Merlex Stucco and Vero, was honored with the Remarkable Women award from the National Association of Women Business Owners in October.

A recent forecast from Reed Business Information's Jim Haughey, RBI's construction industry economist, predicts $41.7 billion in multifamily construction spending in 2005, a dip of about 4.7 percent from the $43.8 billion spent this year.

According to statistics complied by the Gypsum Association, the United States gypsum board industry shipped a total of 8.655 billion square feet of material during the third calendar quarter (July through September) of 2004.