nyse usg industry building materials founded 1901 ; 115 years ago 1901 headquarters chicago illinois united states key people james s. metcalf chairman president & ceo matthew f. hilzinger evp & cfo brian j. cook evp & cao dominic a. dannessa evp coo & cino products gypsum drywall joint compound ceiling tile ceiling grid revenue us 3.224 billion 2012 operating income us 73 million 2012 net income us 126 million 2012 total assets us 3.723 billion 2012 total equity us 6 million 2012 website www.usg.com usg corporation also known as united states gypsum corporation is an american company which manufactures construction materials most notably drywall and joint compound . the company is the largest distributor of wallboard in the united states and the largest manufacturer of gypsum products in north america . it is also a major consumer of synthetic gypsum a byproduct of flue gas desulfurization . its corporate offices are located at 550 west adams street in chicago illinois . together with other construction products usg s most significant brands are 1 sheetrock brand gypsum wallboard 2 fiberock brand panels 3 securock brand roof board 4 sheetrock brand tuff hide primer surfacer 5 in december 2013 warren buffett s berkshire hathaway became the largest shareholder in the company when it converted usg convertible notes it had acquired in 2008 to common stock . 6 contents 1 history 2 corporate structure 2.1 corporate headquarters building 2.2 manufacturing and mining facilities 2.3 plaster city california facility 3 significant events 3.1 antitrust cases 3.2 hostile takeover attempts 3.3 bankruptcy 4 references 4.1 book references 4.2 web references history edit in the 1890s gypsum manufacturers perfected a method of strengthening plaster by adding a retarder which controlled the setting time thus creating a viable competitor to traditional lime plaster . because gypsum was plentiful and available at a relatively low price and because the manufacturing process was so simple new firms flooded and fragmented the market placing constant downward pressure on prices . on december 27 1901 30 gypsum and plaster companies merged to form the united states gypsum company resulting in the creation of the first nationwide gypsum company in the united states . the new company combined the operations of 37 mining and calcining plants producing agricultural and construction plaster . in 1909 usg purchased the sackett plaster board company inventor of sackett board which was a panel made of multiple layers of plaster and paper . by 1917 a new manufacturing process produced boards with a single layer of plaster and paper that could be joined flush along a wall with a relatively smooth surface . originally called adamant panel board the product became known as sheetrock . by the 1930s the company s policy of diffusion of manufacturing facilities vertical integration and product diversification allowed it to operate profitably every year during the great depression . the 1933 chicago world s fair featured buildings made almost entirely out of sheetrock panels which led to the brand s first major advertising campaign . following the end of world war ii the residential building market boomed with the returning gis and the emerging tract housing projects such as levittown . citation needed the 1950s and 1960s saw expansion into mexico and other international markets . recession and its effect on the bottom line dominated the 1980s and led to a restructuring of the company . on january 1 1985 usg corporation was formed as a holding company a reverse merger in which united states gypsum company became one of just nine operating subsidiaries . in the mid to late 1990s the company invested in a significant expansion of its manufacturing network adding new high speed wallboard manufacturing operations in rainier or bridgeport al and aliquippa pa . other existing operations were substantially rebuilt or modernized including the wallboard manufacturing plant in east chicago in . in 2001 the company entered chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings to resolve legacy asbestos lawsuits . asbestos was a minor ingredient in some specialty products that the company had stopped selling almost 40 years earlier in the 1970s . the company s operations remained healthy and profitable while it was in chapter 11 . when the bankruptcy was completed in 2006 all creditors were repaid in full and usg shareholders retained equity in the company . in a wall street journal article dated february 15 2006 warren buffett said it s the most successful managerial performance in bankruptcy that i ve ever seen . a 3.95 billion trust was created to handle all existing and potential future asbestos lawsuits thus permanently resolving the asbestos litigation issue . usg managed through the great recession which hit the residential and commercial construction markets in mid 2006 by cutting costs and closing older less efficient operations . william c. foote the company s ceo for almost 20 years retired in 2010 and 30 year usg veteran james s. metcalf was elected chairman president and ceo . metcalf implemented the company s plan to win which involved strengthening its core manufacturing operations and l & w supply distribution business diversifying sources of revenues and profitability and differentiating the company from competitors through innovative products and services . the company returned to profitability in the first quarter of 2013 posting net earnings of 2 million followed by 26 million in net income in the second quarter of 2013 . corporate structure edit usg corporation has the following significant subsidiaries 7 united states gypsum company usg interiors llc otsego paper inc l & w supply corporation usg foreign investments ltd cgc inc. usg latin america llc usg holding de mexico s.a. de c.v. usg mexico s.a. de c.v. corporate headquarters building edit in 1992 usg moved its corporate headquarters from 101 south wacker drive to 125 s. franklin street in chicago a site which it occupied until march 2007 . known as the usg building the structure is part of the dual tower at & t corporate center which was completed in 1989 . the building was designed by adrian d. smith faia riba design partner at skidmore owings & merrill and constructed by morse diesel within its 110 million construction budget . the usg building is 538 ft 164 m tall and houses 35 floors and 1 100 000 square feet 100 000 m2 of space including 12 000 square feet 1 100 m2 of retail a 650 seat restaurant expansion and two levels of below grade parking for 160 cars . usg had its own entrance with a lobby and occupied the first nine floors exclusively and parts of the 11th floor . italian marble is used as cladding and also in the highly ornate interior . the interior also features gold leaf and satin finish brown and american oak wood trim . parts of the building lobbies were used in the filming of the 1994 film ri hie ri h. in 2005 usg announced it would not be renewing its lease at the 125 s. franklin street building and instead would move to a new building at 550 w. adams developed by fifield companies . the base building architect is de stefano partners with the environments group providing the interior space design and construction . usg entered a 15 year lease and occupied the building in early 2007 . the new building is occupied 65 % by usg and 10 % by humana inc. as an incentive for usg to remain in the downtown chicago area the city of chicago created a redevelopment agreement that contributed 6.5 million to the construction of the new building . 8 in turn usg agreed to maintain at least 500 full time equivalent jobs at all times for a period of ten years at the new corporate headquarters . manufacturing and mining facilities edit country gypsum wallboard joint compound cement board mines and quarries paper for gypsum wallboard ceiling suspension systems ceiling panels united states aliquippa pennsylvania baltimore maryland bridgeport alabama east chicago indiana galena park texas jacksonville florida norfolk virginia plaster city california rainier oregon shoals indiana sigurd utah sperry iowa closer to mediapolis than to sperry sweetwater texas washingtonville pennsylvania auburn washington baltimore maryland bridgeport alabama chamblee georgia dallas texas east chicago indiana fort dodge iowa galena park texas gypsum ohio jacksonville florida glendale arizona port reading new jersey sigurd utah torrance california baltimore maryland river rouge michigan new orleans louisiana alabaster michigan fort dodge iowa plaster city california shoals indiana sigurd utah southard oklahoma sperry iowa sweetwater texas galena park texas north kansas city missouri oakfield new york otsego michigan stockton california cartersville georgia westlake ohio weirton west virginia cloquet minnesota greenville mississippi walworth wisconsin canada hagersville ontario montreal quebec calgary alberta hagersville ontario montreal quebec surrey british columbia hagersville ontario little narrows nova scotia oakville ontario mexico monterrey mexico puebla mexico tecom n mexico monterrey mexico puebla mexico monterrey mexico monterrey mexico san luis potos mexico tecom n mexico plaster city california facility edit usg has a large gypsum plant located 17 miles 27 km west of el centro california along highway interstate 8 at plaster city . 9 the plaster city location makes sheetrock brand gypsum panels . the gypsum is mined from a quarry located 20 miles 32 km to the north in the fish creek mountains of imperial county . the quarry is estimated to contain a deposit of 25 million tons of gypsum . 10 11 usg operates an active narrow gauge railway the last industrial narrow gauge railway in the united states . 12 13 the 3 ft 914 mm gauge line runs north for 20.5 miles 33 km from the plant at plaster city formerly known as maria to the gypsum quarry . the line hauls gypsum rock from the quarry to the plant . various sources show the total mileage of the track between 15 and 26 miles 24.1 and 41.8 km . the line was originally built by the imperial gypsum company railroad and was owned by the imperial valley gypsum and oil corporation . the railroad built from the san diego & arizona eastern railway at plaster city to the quarry . surveying commenced in april 1921 grading on october 3 1921 and construction was completed on september 15 1922 . commercial operation commenced on october 14 1922 . the total length of the line was 19.63 miles 31.59 km . just two years after completion of the line 1924 the track was sold to the pacific portland cement company . usg purchased the line from the pacific portland cement company in 1946 . in 1947 the first diesel engine was operated on the line . the usg plant at plaster city is also served by the union pacific railroad up and the pacific imperial railroad czry which operates over the san diego & arizona eastern railway sdae . significant events edit antitrust cases edit criminal in 1973 six wallboard manufacturers including usg were charged with violating s. 1 of the sherman act during the period 1960 1973 through engaging in a combination and conspiracy in restraint of interstate trade and commerce in the manufacture and sale of gypsum board . in july 1975 after the jury was committed to deliberate it became apparent that the jury was heading for a deadlock . defense counsel moved for a mistrial but the trial judge denied the request although he indicated that if no verdict were rendered by the end of the week he would then reconsider the mistrial motions . the following morning the jury returned guilty verdicts against each of the defendants . the court of appeals for the third circuit reversed the convictions 14 and that ruling was subsequently affirmed by the united states supreme court 15 on the grounds that the trial judge s instruction to the jury was improper as it emphasized a presumption of wrongful intent rather than concentrating on verifying the defendant s state of mind through evidence and inferences drawn therefrom . in that