Company officials say that the new production line will produce650 million sf of gypsum wallboard annually to meet the needs ofits Northeast customers. The renovation is expected to beginmid-2005 and be completed a year later.

In August, the firm went before the Westchester CountyIndustrial Development Agency (IDA) which approved an inducement toprovide the Herndon, VA-based firm with approximately $19.6 millionin real estate, sales and mortgage tax benefits. In addition, NewYork State's Empire State Development Corp. is also providing thecompany with some incentives in connection with its capitalinvestment at its Buchanan plant.

Lafarge North America had been mulling whether to upgrade theBuchanan plant or make improvements to its drywall manufacturingfacility in Newark, NJ. Several months ago, Gary Molchan, directorof environmental safety and loss control for Lafarge North America,said the New Jersey plant upgrade would cost approximately $68million to complete. He noted that the incentives given by theWestchester County IDA and New York State were critical in makingthe Buchanan project competitive with the proposed renovationprogram at is Newark facility.