Lafarge North America Inc, the leading supplier of construction materials in the US and Canada, today announced that it will invest approximately $75 million to substantially upgrade and double the capacity of its gypsum drywall manufacturing facility in Buchanan, NY. The new production line will operate at world-class manufacturing standards, producing 650 million square feet of gypsum wallboard annually to meet the growing demands of Lafarge’s residential and commercial customers in the Northeast region. The renovation is expected to begin mid-2005 and is scheduled to be completed in mid-2006.
The Buchanan plant, built in the 1960s and acquired by Lafarge in 1996, has never been significantly upgraded. The positive business environment and the investment incentives provided by the Westchester County Industrial Development Agency, the New York State Empire Development Corporation and the County of Westchester Public Utilities Service Agency (COWPUSA) were taken into consideration by the company in its decision to upgrade and expand the facility. In the US, Lafarge operates four gypsum drywall plants located in Buchanan, NY; Newark, NJ; Silver Grove, KY; and Palatka, FL. In Canada, Lafarge operates one drywall plant in Corner Brook, Newfoundland, and one joint compound plant in Chambly, Quebec.
