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History
United States Gypsum Company was established more than a century ago when the owners of eighteen gypsum operations, mostly in the Midwest, combined their resources. U.S. Gypsum was incorporated on December 27, 1901, and began operations on February 1, 1902.
The story actually began more than fifteen years earlier, in 1884, when George Ringland of Fort Dodge, Iowa, invented retarder for gypsum plaster. He discovered that glue added to calcined gypsum (gypsum from which water has been removed) slowed the setting time of the plaster, enabling gypsum to compete with lime-based plaster as a wall coating. The improved product received major attention at Chicago’s 1893 Columbian Exposition when it was used to create the ornate facades of the fair’s buildings, earning the nickname “White City.”
To meet growing demand for gypsum plaster, small calcining mills sprang up near rock supplies across the nation, but competition was fierce and price wars frequent. U.S. Gypsum’s founders hoped to beat the competition and earn a profit through economies of scale and investment in research and development. These fiercely independent businessmen exchanged their properties for stock valued at $7.5 million. They did not contribute any cash, so the fledgling company owned many facilities, but had no money. The company secured a $200,000 loan in March 1902.
The company’s first president was B. W. McCausland, a partner in The Alabaster Company of Alabaster, Michigan, and South Chicago, Illinois. This business, founded by Michigan lumberman Waldo Avery, had supplied the gypsum for the Columbian Exposition. McCausland’s main accomplishment was bringing twenty additional plants into the company in its first year.
The company was a success from the start. As planned, U.S. Gypsum invested its profits in research and development, and its first new product came to market quickly: PYROBAR® Gypsum Partition Tile, introduced in 1903. This fire-resistant building block was used in non-load-bearing walls. Fire resistance has been a selling point of the company’s products ever since. |
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