Gypsum panel product manufacturers are constantly innovating and developing new and improved products in response to the needs of architects, builders and owners. In fact, the spirit of innovation dates back to the birth of the gypsum board concept. When Augustine Sackett formed the Sackett Plaster Board Company in 1906, he was building on his success as the inventor of a machine that produced building papers. Sackett Board, the progenitor of drywall, was composed of layers of felt paper and gypsum and Sackett ultimately patented both the product and the equipment and method of producing it.
After establishing the company, Sackett launched an advertising campaign touting the advantages of his new fire-resistant board in major publications such as The House Beautiful, Country Life, and the Saturday Evening Post. “Every architect owes it to his clients, every owner owes it to himself, to investigate this material before making old-style specifications, reads a full-page ad that appeared in the July 1906 edition of The House Beautiful. “It can be used to good advantage somewhere in every building.”