July 12, 2022 | Buchanan, New York United States

Saint-Gobain Upgrades Key Equipment at Buchanan, New York Gypsum Plant, Saving Nearly 700,000 kWh of Electricity per year

Saint-Gobain North America, through its building products subsidiary CertainTeed LLC, has installed energy-efficient grinding control technology at its gypsum plant in Buchanan, New York, reducing the plant’s energy consumption by nearly 700,000 kWh per year and also reducing the plant’s greenhouse gas emissions.

The installation of the Variable Frequency Drive in Buchanan comes as the company continues to roll out its global Grow and Impact strategy, which includes plans to reduce the company’s energy consumption and emissions. The carbon dioxide emissions reduction achieved by the installation of this one piece of equipment is equal to the total emissions of a gasoline-powered vehicle driving 1.2 million miles.

CertainTeed’s plant in Buchanan is the only gypsum wallboard manufacturing facility in New York State. The site began operations in 1967 and today is home to 120 employees. Three years ago, the plant installed a nearly 7,000 panel, 2.4 MW solar array on its roof, which generates over 2.7 million kWh annually and is one of the largest of its kind in New York.

In Buchanan, gypsum rock is ground down into a powder that eventually serves as the main ingredient in a gypsum slurry. The Variable Frequency Drive has been installed in Buchanan for the plant’s grinding activities. With the capacity to slow down or speed up grinding at different speeds, the new technology is able to consume less energy and ultimately reduce the facility’s carbon footprint. Once produced, the slurry is poured and dries between two sheets of paper, creating gypsum wallboard.

“This new technology in Buchanan will help our company maximize its positive impact, for our customers and the communities where we do business, while minimizing our environmental footprint,” said Jay Bachmann, Vice President & General Manager for CertainTeed Interior Products Group. “Our team will continue to look for ways to reduce our consumption of energy and natural resources while delivering more of our industry-leading gypsum wallboard to the market at a time of unprecedented customer demand.”

In Buchanan, the company is currently hiring for several roles, including positions in production, operations and engineering. A complete listing of the company’s job openings, in Buchanan and its 120 manufacturing locations in the United States and Canada, can be found on Saint-Gobain's careers website. 

The company’s investment in Buchanan follows several other recent actions taken by the company to solidify its commitment towards sustainability: 

  • In June, Saint-Gobain announced a $91 Million CAD investment in its gypsum plant in Montreal, creating the first zero-carbon manufacturing site for wallboard in North America and increasing capacity by 40%. 
  • In May, Saint-Gobain announced its newly installed recycling technology at its gypsum wallboard plant in Nashville, Arkansas, would save 65,000 tons of material per year from landfill.
  • In April, Saint-Gobain entered into a recycling partnership at its SageGlass electrochromic glass production site in Faribault, Minnesota, saving 1,000 tons of material per year from landfill over the next five years.
  • In March, Saint-Gobain North America announced it would install heat recovery technology at its CertainTeed gypsum manufacturing site in Vancouver, British Columbia, which will reduce the plant’s carbon dioxide emissions by 10% and improve its energy efficiency.
  • Also In March, Saint-Gobain announced that through its virtual Power Purchase Agreement with the Blooming Grove Wind Farm in McLean County, Illinois, and additional renewables contracting, the company received renewable energy certificates that effectively reduced approximately 33% of its CO2 emissions from electricity usage in 2021 in the United States and Canada.
  • In February, the company invested $32 Million to upgrade equipment at its insulation plant in Chowchilla, California, reducing the facility’s carbon footprint by more than 4,000 metric tons per year.

In January, Saint-Gobain North America donated a zero-energy ready house in Canton, Ohio, made with more than 20 of its own products, to Habitat for Humanity.

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
More than 166,000 employees, located in 75 countries
Committed to achieving Carbon Neutrality by 2050

Media Contacts

Saint-Gobain in North America:
Peter Clark
Saint-Gobain Corporate Communications
Media@saint-gobain.com

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

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