U.S. building materials-maker USG has expanded its business in the Asian region with a joint venture it formed with Australian firm Boral to strengthen its foothold in the plasterboard market, the company president said.

“Korea is our second-largest market and is one of the big elephants along with Australia, Thailand and Indonesia,” James Metcalf, USG president and chief executive officer, said in a recent interview with The Korea Herald at USG Boral’s Seoul office on Thursday.

USG Boral, a 50-50 joint venture formed in 2014, entered the building materials business with sales and operations across Asia, Australasia and the Middle East with a goal to grow earnings from the regions and to transform the business over the longer term through its product and manufacturing solutions, which include ceilings, cement board, fiberboard and lightweight plasterboard.

The CEO, who spent his entire career at North America’s largest gypsum maker, said USG Boral has a five-year capital plan of investment in the areas and facility expansion as well as transfer of technological know-how. He declined to disclose the exact amount of investment, citing confidentiality.

“With strong GDP growth, Asian countries’ adoption rate is expected to increase. The critical mass happening in Korea and the rest of Asian countries will continue to round out our portfolio,” said Metcalf, who came to Seoul to attend USG Boral’s board of directors meeting.

According to USG’s recently released quarterly results, USG Boral generated $12 million in equity income for the American company during the July-September period this year.

Metcalf said the marriage between USG’s building supply technologies and Boral’s plasterboard distribution footprint in the Asian and Australian markets is expected to create greater synergies in the next decade.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if this part of the business becomes larger than what we have in North America in the next 10 years,” he said.

Founded in 1901, USG pioneered plasterboard, sold under its trademarked brand name Sheetrock, and has been pursuing innovation as the firm’s core value in a bid to improve the construction environment for more than 110 years.

“We ranked among the top 10 innovative companies in the industrial material space, with more than 2,400 patents issued in the last decade and two weeks ago we presented 77 individual patent awards to employees covering 35 new patents,” he said.

With the growing trend toward green building, USG seeks to develop eco-friendly spaces and try different ways to have connectivity with technology, the CEO added.

“Our products cover large spaces in rooms and buildings such as the walls, floor and ceiling. We try to come up with ideas for how to make your room a more comfortable and desirable place,” he said.

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)