Today Saint-Gobain held a groundbreaking ceremony to mark construction toward a new, state-of-the-art glass mat facility at its CertainTeed Roofing campus in Oxford, North Carolina. The investment, now projected at $167 Million with additional funds allocated toward new technology to enhance employee safety and sustainability, marks the company’s largest ever investment in a US roofing facility.
The event, hosted at the future site of the glass mat facility, featured remarks from North Carolina Secretary of Commerce Machelle Baker Sanders, Vice President of CertainTeed Roofing Carmen Bodden, Oxford Mayor Jackie Sergent, County Commissioner Tony Cozart, and Glass Mat General Manager Pedro Romero.
Glass mat is a material composed of short fiberglass filaments that are uniformly distributed and bonded together by a polymer resin. The mat forming process produces a fabric that is strong, stable, and heat-resistant, and is a key component in the production of roofing shingles.
The project, which was supported with over $700,000 in incentives and grants from the State of North Carolina, including funds from the One North Carolina Fund and a Rural Division Building Reuse Grant, will support the company’s growing customer base in the southeastern United States and aligns with Saint-Gobain's global Grow and Impact Strategy, which includes expanding its presence in key, fast growing markets. In addition, new additional investments in automation and new technology will maximize employee safety and contribute towards Saint-Gobain's global vision of carbon neutrality by 2050.
“The construction of this facility in Oxford is an important step to maintain our industry-leading service to our customers,” said Carmen Bodden, Vice President of CertainTeed Roofing. “Our goal is for this plant to be the new industry standard – it will utilize cutting edge energy and water reduction technology, as well as innovative automation. We thank the State of North Carolina, Granville County and the Town of Oxford for their unwavering support of our business as we continue our work to be a leader in light and sustainable construction.”
“The State of North Carolina is proud to partner with CertainTeed and to celebrate such an exciting milestone in the City of Oxford,” said Secretary Sanders. “This multimillion-dollar expansion is an outstanding investment in rural North Carolina, our talented workforce, and our shared commitment to advanced manufacturing that will continue to support this company for decades to come.”
Today’s ceremony in Oxford follows several other growth investments taken by Saint-Gobain to grow its business in North America in recent months:
- In September, Saint-Gobain completed the acquisition of GCP Applied Technologies Inc., furthering its worldwide leadership position in construction chemicals.
- In August, Saint-Gobain completed its $928 Million acquisition of Kaycan, Ltd., a family-owned manufacturer and distributor of exterior building materials, becoming the top siding player in Canada.
- In May, Saint-Gobain announced a $100 Million expansion of its CertainTeed roofing facility in Peachtree City, Georgia, more than doubling the site’s production capacity while also reducing its carbon dioxide emissions.
- Also in May, the company announced a $28 Million investment in its ADFORS technical textile products facility in Dublin, Georgia, creating 400 jobs over the next two years.
- In April, Saint-Gobain announced it was doubling the manufacturing footprint of its CertainTeed Architectural manufacturing site in Lakewood, Ohio by moving to a new, state-of-the-art location in nearby Strongsville, Ohio.
- In February, the company invested $32 Million in its CertainTeed insulation manufacturing site in Chowchilla, California, increasing the location’s production capacity by 13% while also reducing its carbon footprint.
With over 145 manufacturing locations in the United States and Canada, every current and future member of the company’s team plays a vital role in achieving its sustainability goals. A current list of job openings at all Saint-Gobain locations, including in Akron, can be found on the company’s career website.
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
Worldwide leader in light and sustainable construction, Saint-Gobain designs, manufactures and distributes materials and services for the construction and industrial markets. Its integrated solutions for the renovation of public and private buildings, light construction and the decarbonization of construction and industry are developed through a continuous innovation process and provide sustainability and performance. The Group’s commitment is guided by its purpose, “MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER HOME”.
€44.2 billion in sales in 2021
167,000 employees, located in 75 countries
Committed to achieving Carbon Neutrality by 2050
For more details on Saint-Gobain, visit www.saint-gobain.com and follow us on Twitter @saintgobain.
