OXFORD, N.C. — Saint-Gobain held a groundbreaking ceremony on Nov. 4 to mark construction toward a new, state-of-the-art glass mat facility at its CertainTeed Roofing campus in Oxford, N.C. 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 United States 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.

“The construction of this facility in Oxford is an important step to maintain our industry-leading service to our customers,” said Bodden. “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.”

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 U.S. 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 State of North Carolina is proud to partner with CertainTeed and to celebrate such an exciting milestone in the City of Oxford,” said 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.”

The 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, Ga., 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, Ga., 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, Calif., increasing the location’s production capacity by 13% while also reducing its carbon footprint.