Saint-Gobain North America history

Arnaud de Vogué, president since 1952, was initially reluctant but eventually recognized the end of the grand liberal regime of Saint-Gobain and the beginning of a new era.

A new subsidiary, American Saint-Gobain, founded in 1959, having already acquired four glassworks, then designed a new one in Greenland, Tennessee, intended to exploit the latest techniques in grinding and polishing.

Overseas expansion in glass fiber was dramatic, and the development of a presence in Brazil beginning in 1960 supplemented solid bases in Belgium, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and Spain.

Disastrously, this factory did not open until 1962, after the invention of float glass by Pilkington.

1964 Norton Company purchases Clipper Manufactuing Company, a producer of concrete- and masonry-cutting equipment.

1966 Norton Company purchases United States Stoneware of Akron, Ohio, a maker of engineered ceramic and metal specialty products used in the chemical and petrochemical industries.

1967 CertainTeed and Saint-Gobain began a joint venture to manufacture and sell insulation in the United States.

At the end of 1968 came a major turning point: the dramatic offensive by Boussois Souchon Neuvesel (BSN) with a public offer for exchange to acquire 30 percent of Saint-Gobain, following tentative negotiations, which Saint-Gobain had rebuffed.

1969 CertainTeed begins producing solid vinyl siding.

There are probably two milestones that stand out in the Saint-Gobain Group’s long history: – It was established in 1665, – Saint-Gobain and Pont-à-Mousson merged in 1970, initiating the process that made the Group what it is today.”

1975 CertainTeed's plant in Lake Charles, Louisiana, begins manufacturing polymer products which the company uses as raw materials to make pipe, siding and window products.

Significant investments were also made in float glass, with Saint-Gobain building ten out of the 17 new plants constructed in Europe during 1976.

In 1978, following a convention of all 41 directors, more fundamental reorganization of the new group led to the replacement of the six market departments by ten production-oriented branches.

1981 CertainTeed introduces "InsulSafe®," the world's first non-bonded loose fill fiber glass insulation product.

1985 Norton Company opens Saint-Gobain Research North America in Northboro, Massachusetts – now Saint-Gobain's largest research center in the world.

1986 Norton Company acquires a United States supplier of high-quality abrasives and surface finishing products, Carborundum Abrasives (having acquired its Canadian subsidiary the year before).

1987 Corhart Refractories, a manufacturer of refactories – large ceramic blocks used to line glass and steel furnaces – is acquired by Saint-Gobain.

1988 Wolverine Technologies, a manufacturer of premier vinyl building products, becomes part of CertainTeed's vinyl siding business.

1989 CertainTeed acquires the Ludowici-Celadon clay roof tile company.

In 1990, Saint-Gobain acquired the United States company Norton, which was the world's leader in abrasives.

Saint-Gobain also acquired two German glassmakers in 1991, GIAG and Oberland.

However, sales began to slump by 1992, and net income fell precipitously.

In 1993, Saint-Gobain's profits plunged 45 percent.

Saint-Gobain did very well in North America in 1994, which improved the company's overall performance, and Saint-Gobain announced that it was ready to resume acquisitions now that sales and profits were back to manageable levels.

In June 1995, the company announced a complex deal with two companies that would effectively make Saint-Gobain the largest glass-packaging manufacturer in the world.

Ceramic companies from Germany and France were added to its holdings in 1997 along with an abrasives manufacturer based in the United Kingdom.

1998 Saint-Gobain acquires Calmar, a leading manufacturer of trigger sprayers and fluid-dispensing products.

1999 Saint-Gobain acquires Furon, a leading supplier of highly engineered polymer products, which led to the creation of Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics.

Growth continued in 2000 with the addition of U.K.-based Meyer International, Germany's Raab Karcher, and United States polymers firm Chemfab.

2001 Merit Abrasives, a manufacturer of specialty abrasive products, is acquired by Saint-Gobain Abrasives.

Saint-Gobain's financial performance for 2002 remained steady; however, the revelation that it could be subjected to years of expensive lawsuits sent its shares plummeting by 30 percent the day the company announced the charge in July.

2003 Saint-Gobain acquires Heye America (now known as GPS America), a supplier of machines, parts and services to the glass container manufacturers.

By 2004, its financial results were positive as it secured a small increase in sales and operating income.

2005 Saint-Gobain acquires BPB, a global manufacturer of gypsum wallboard, which in North America becomes CertainTeed Gypsum.

With 2014 sales of €41 billion, Saint-Gobain operates in 64 countries and has over 180,000 employees.