PALATKA, FLA. — Saint-Gobain North America has announced plans to invest $235 million to expand manufacturing space at its CertainTeed gypsum facility in Palatka, near the Port of Jacksonville on the St. Johns River in northern Florida.
The Palatka facility, which currently employs more than 150 people, began operations in 2001. According to Saint-Gobain, the facility is one of the largest gypsum plants in the Southeast.
The firm’s expansion project received more than $7 million in cash benefits and high-impact investment tax credits, including a State of Florida Capital Investment Tax Credit, a Career Source Florida Quick Response Training Grant, a grant from Putnam County and a Clay Cooperative Economic Development Rate.
According to Saint-Gobain, the expansion will more than double the production capacity of the existing manufacturing plant, as well as create more than 100 new jobs. The investment will be made over the next two years through the firm’s building products subsidiary, CertainTeed Interior Products Group.
In line with Saint-Gobain’s goal for carbon neutrality by 2050, the firm plans for sustainability to be an essential aspect of the project. The development will include the installation of new energy-saving equipment and automation technologies, including an energy board dryer that is expected to be 25 percent more efficient than the facility’s existing dryer. The facility will also receive a new mill system, which is expected to be 40 percent more efficient than the current mill.
Saint-Gobain also recently opened its CertainTeed Corners facility in Social Circle, Georgia, and plans to construct a roofing manufacturing facility and distribution center in Bryan, Texas. Additionally, the company agreed to acquire Building Products of Canada Corp. in June.
— Channing Hamilton