Construction products manufacturer CertainTeed, a subsidiary of French giant Saint-Gobain, is launching a $91 million modernization project within two years at its gypsum board plant in Sainte-Catherine, near Montreal.
Posted at 4:00 p.m.
With this investment, CertainTeed has two main objectives: to increase the plant’s production capacity by 40%, while achieving its energy decarbonization by replacing natural gas with hydro-Quebec electricity.
CertainTeed plans to set up the first zero-carbon wallboard plant in North America, according to information obtained by The Press before the announcement scheduled for Tuesday in Sainte-Catherine.
By switching entirely to electricity, with modernized equipment, CertainTeed also plans to reduce its energy consumption by around 30% at its Sainte-Catherine plant, thus creating “one of the most energy efficient in the world.
To carry out this project, CertainTeed will benefit from financial assistance worth $40 million from the Québec Energy Transition program, which is managed by the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, in collaboration with Hydro-Québec.
Achieve carbon neutrality
Established in 1973, the CertainTeed gypsum board plant in Sainte-Catherine employs 120 people. Its production of wall panels serves the construction market in Quebec, Eastern Ontario and the Maritimes.
From its headquarters in Malvern, Pennsylvania, CertainTeed and its fifty factories in the United States and Canada constitute one of the principal industrial entities of the Saint-Gobain group in North America.
The investment in modernization and decarbonization of the Sainte-Catherine gypsum board plant is part of Saint-Gobain’s worldwide strategy to reduce its energy consumption and polluting emissions in order to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
In a communication sent to The Pressthe vice-president of ESG standards (environmental, social and governance factors) and circular economy at Saint-Gobain in North America, Dennis Wilson, said: “The electrification of our Montreal plant (Sainte-Catherine) is a big step forward in our broader goal of decarbonizing building materials.
“We are beginning a historic chapter at this gypsum plant, leading it towards a more sustainable future while increasing its production capacity at a time of unprecedented demand” in the construction and renovation market in eastern Canada.