National Gypsum to Build $125 Million Plant in North Carolina

Charlotte-based National Gypsum Co., a manufacturer of gypsum wallboard, announced it will invest up to $125 million to construct a new high-speed wallboard plant in Mt. Holly, N.C.

It will be capable of producing approximately 1 billion sq. ft. of wallboard annually. Construction on the new plant will begin next year and is expected to be operational during the third quarter of 2007.

"This major investment fills an important gap in supplying wallboard to the southeast markets," said Thomas C. Nelson, chairman, president and CEO. "With the new plant in place, we will be better able to serve key markets such as Charlotte and Atlanta, while improving supply in Florida and the Mid-Atlantic from our plants located in those regions."

Gypsum wallboard is typically produced from gypsum rock. In partnership with Duke Power, the new plant will use byproduct gypsum produced at Duke Power's coal-fired power plants. As Duke Power scrubs sulfur dioxide from its coal-fired emissions, the byproduct of the process is calcium sulfate, which is the chemical name for gypsum. National Gypsum will receive byproduct gypsum that will be produced at the four Duke Power plants involved, the Marshall, Cliffside, Allen and Belews Creek stations.

Cheesecake Factory Plans for Production Facility in Rocky Mount

The Cheesecake Factory Inc. has acquired a 16-acre site to develop a second bakery production facility in the Whitaker Business and Industry Center, located in the City of Rocky Mount, N.C. Completion of the 100,000 sq.-ft. building shell is expected in early 2006.

The facility will produce cheesecakes and other bakery products for the company's restaurants and other foodservice wholesalers, retailers and distributors. It will also serve as a distribution and fulfillment center for the company's restaurants and customers located in the eastern United States.

Activity Up in Both North, South Carolina

McGraw-Hill Construction reported that, compared to a year ago, the value of July contracts for future construction activity improved by about 15 percent in North Carolina and roughly 10 percent in South Carolina.

In North Carolina, new July contracts totaled approximately $2 billion. The biggest sector, residential, improved by 17 percent compared to last July and tallied roughly $1.4 billion. Meanwhile, the value of nonresidential contracts improved sharply, by 52 percent, jumping from $339.9 million to the most recent $515.7 million. The value of nonbuilding contracts dropped significantly, however, by 61 percent, to total approximately $73.1 million, down from last year's $189.8 million.

Year-to-date, North Carolina contract activity is 9 percent ahead of the first seven months of 2004, with a total value of approximately $13.8 billion. With its strong growth in July, nonresidential is 4 percent ahead of last year's pace, with roughly $2.9 billion in contracts reported to date. The value of residential contract activity has climbed by about 11 percent to total roughly $9.3 billion. Despite its steep decline in July, the nonbuilding sector is still 7 percent ahead for the year, with approximately $1.6 billion in new contracts reported.

The South Carolina market's 10 percent improvement in July equated to a $935.9 million total. Once again, however, residential was the only positive sector for the month, increasing by 36 percent to total roughly $711.4 million. The nonresidential category declined by 22 percent for a monthly total of roughly $147.8 million. The nonbuilding sector also declined, by 45 percent, to tally $76.8 million for the month.

Year-to-date, the value of new contracts in South Carolina is estimated at roughly $6.7 billion, or 8 percent behind last year's pace. Residential, estimated at nearly $4.7 billion and with a 21-percent improvement so far, is the only positive sector. The nonbuilding category, with a roughly $643.8 million total, is an estimated 59 percent behind the first seven months of 2004, while nonresidential, with a value of almost $1.4 billion, is 25 percent behind last year's pace.

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