McCausland of Michigan for its first president; in 1905, he was succeeded by his previous Alabaster Company business partner's son, Sewell Avery, who served in the role for 35 years.

Patented by USG in 1912, 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 Plaster Board, the product became known as Sheetrock in 1917,[14] with the new term credited to USG sales representative D.L.

[15] 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,[16] which led to the brand's first major advertising campaign.

In 1999, USG acquired Sybex, Inc. the holding company for Beadex (a competing joint compound manufacturer) and Synkoloid.

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.

USG adapted during the Great Recession, which hit the residential and commercial construction markets in mid-2006, resulting in a decreased demand for drywall.

The base building architect is De Stefano + Partners, with The Environments Group providing the interior space design and construction.

[23] 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.

USG has a large gypsum plant located 17 miles (27 km) west of El Centro, California, along highway Interstate 8, at Plaster City.

The gypsum is mined from a quarry located 20 miles (32 km) to the north, in the Fish Creek Mountains of Imperial County.

[28][29] The 3 ft (914 mm) gauge line runs north for 26 miles (42 km) from the plant at Plaster City (formerly known as Maria) to the gypsum quarry.

The Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reversed the convictions,[31] and that ruling was subsequently affirmed by the United States Supreme Court[32] on the grounds that: In 1940, the U.S. Justice Department filed suit against USG and six other wallboard manufacturers, charging them with price fixing under §§ 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act.

In December 2012, USG (together with National Gypsum, Lafarge North America and Georgia-Pacific), was accused in a class action for allegedly violating federal antitrust laws,[35] through raising prices on drywall products by as much as 35 percent, as well as halting a longstanding practice of letting customers lock in prices for the duration of a construction project.

USG immediately instituted a plan to buy back 20 percent of its common stock in an effort to fend off the takeover.

USG decided to fight this attempt by offering $42 per share ($37 in cash and $5 in pay in kind debenture) plus a stub stock worth $7.

The sell-off and workforce reduction of 7% were not enough to allow USG to service the debt payments ($800,000 per day) in the economic downturn.

On March 17, 1993, USG filed a pre-packaged bankruptcy petition that included a 50-to-1 reverse stock split.

To pay for the trust USG would use cash it had accumulated during the bankruptcy, new long-term debt, a tax rebate from the federal government, and an innovative rights offering.

USG announced a $900 million payment to the new trust was made that day and two subsequent payments totaling $3.05 billion would be made within the next 12 months if Congress failed to enact legislation establishing a national asbestos personal injury trust fund, such as the FAIR Act.