Rock-Tenn, Lafarge Forming Venture for Gypsum Linerboard

Lafarge Corp. and Rock-Tenn Co. announced the formation of a joint venture to produce gypsum paperboard liner for Lafarge's U.S. drywall manufacturing plants.
The joint venture, Seven Hills Paperboard, LLC, will own and operate a board mill located at Rock-Tenn's Lynchburg, Virginia manufacturing site. Rock-Tenn will contribute a portion of its existing Lynchburg assets to the venture, which will manufacture gypsum paperboard liner using Through this venture, Lafarge's gypsum division gains access to a reliable and cost-effective source of recovered paper, the major raw material in the paperboard liner used to make drywall.
"This partnership with Rock-Tenn is a major milestone in Lafarge's strategy to become a significant player in the drywall business," said Lafarge Gypsum president Alain Bouruet-Aubertot. "By partnering with Rock-Tenn, we will achieve a level of vertical integration that affords Lafarge Gypsum a competitive advantage with access to paperboard from a centrally located paperboard mill at a reduced cost, further lowering our delivered cost position. Combining Rock-Tenn's paperboard making expertise with the
proprietary low-basis weight technology of the Lafarge Group, we will be able to maximize drywall quality for our customers."
Seven Hills will sell all of its production to Lafarge's U.S. drywall plants with full-scale production of gypsum paperboard liner projected to commence the second half of next year. The Seven Hills mill will have an annual capacity of 75,000 tons per year that could be expanded over time to a level in excess
of 100,000 tons a year of low-basis weight paperboard.