Saint-Gobain to Invest $400 Million to Expand Roofing, Insulation and Gypsum Production Capacity

The company seeks to expand its business and reduce its carbon footprint with their latest investment.

Saint-Gobain, through its building products subsidiary CertainTeed, today announced the company will invest more than $400 million to expand its production capacity at four key manufacturing locations in the United States to better serve its customers in a high growth environment.

Combined together, the four capacity expansions represent the company’s largest organic growth investment in several years as Saint-Gobain executes on its newly announced global Grow and Impact strategy, which includes maximizing its impact in key, fast-growing markets, while striving to minimize the company’s environmental footprint. The combined investments will reduce waste by more than 50% and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 20% compared to existing manufacturing technology.

“This is an investment in our company’s future, and also in our future ability to ensure security of supply for our customers,” said Mark Rayfield, CEO of Saint-Gobain North America and CertainTeed. “We will continue to look for opportunities to strategically grow and expand our business, all while striving to become the world’s leader in light and sustainable construction.”

Roofing – A $100 million investment to increase capacity in the Southeastern United States

Saint-Gobain will invest approximately $100 million to double its production capacity at one of its roofing shingle plants in the Southeastern United States. Construction preparation will begin by the end of 2021 and the new production capacity is expected to be fully online in early 2024. The expansion will lead to the creation of 31 new full-time jobs.

Insulation – A $62 million investment to add capacity in Athens, Georgia and Chowchilla, California

At the company’s insulation plant in Chowchilla, California, Saint-Gobain will invest $32 million in a new oven and new furnace, which will allow the plant to expand its production by 13% at that location. The additional capacity will begin coming online in 2022.

At the company’s plant in Athens, Georgia, Saint-Gobain will invest $30 million to start up an additional production line that will increase the plant’s capacity of loose-fill insulation. This expanded production is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2023 and will lead to the creation of up to 20 new permanent full-time jobs.

The Chowchilla plant began operations in 1978 and is currently home to 179 employees. The Athens plant began operations in 1975 and is currently home to 191 employees.

Gypsum – A $250 million investment to add 900 million square feet of capacity in the Southeastern United States

Additionally, the company will expand its production capacity of gypsum in the Southeastern United States by 900 million square feet per year. This expansion project, which will use natural gypsum as its raw material, will cost approximately $250 Million and create an estimated 110 permanent full-time jobs. The new capacity is expected to come online in mid-2024.

For more details on Saint-Gobain, visit www.saint-gobain.com and follow us on Twitter @saintgobain.

About CertainTeed

Through the responsible development of innovative and sustainable building products, CertainTeed, headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania, has helped shape the building products industry for more than 115 years. Founded in 1904 as General Roofing Manufacturing Company, the firm’s slogan “Quality Made Certain, Satisfaction Guaranteed,” inspired the name CertainTeed. Today, CertainTeed is a leading North American brand of exterior and interior building products, including roofing, siding, solar, fence, railing, trim, insulation, drywall and ceilings. www.certainteed.com.

About Saint-Gobain

Saint-Gobain designs, manufactures and distributes materials and solutions for the construction, mobility, healthcare and other industrial application markets. Developed through a continuous innovation process, they can be found everywhere in our living places and daily life, providing wellbeing, performance and safety, while addressing the challenges of sustainable construction, resource efficiency and the fight against climate change.

This strategy of responsible growth is guided by the Saint-Gobain purpose, “MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER HOME,” which responds to the shared ambition of all the women and men in the Group to act every day to make the world a more beautiful and sustainable place to live in.