Saint-Gobain Installs Smart Water Submetering System and Upgrades Equipment at Its Jackson, Michigan Siding Facility, Saving More Than 10 Million Gallons of Water per Year

Saint-Gobain, through its building products subsidiary CertainTeed LLC, has installed a smart water submetering system and upgraded equipment at its siding plant in Jackson, Michigan, reducing the site’s consumption of water by more than ten million gallons per year, a reduction of more than 60% compared to 2019 levels.

The project comes as Saint-Gobain continues to implement its global Grow and Impact strategy, which includes ambitious environmental sustainability goals, such as reducing the company’s industrial water withdrawal by 50% by 2030.

In Jackson, CertainTeed uses process water to cool vinyl siding products manufactured on-site, including its Northwoods® Perfection and Rough-Split Shingle lines, vinyl siding that recreates the natural textures and patterns of cedar shakes and shingles. Recycled water is additionally used in vacuum pumps, key to specific steps in the manufacturing process.

The system, which captures nearly 100% of all water that flows through the site, works by allowing the plant to more closely manage how much water is used at each step in the manufacturing process. An alert system, developed by early career participants in Saint-Gobain’s Essentials of Manufacturing Development Program, helps to notify the Jackson team of leaks and accidental overuse so that they can be pinpointed and fixed quickly. The plant has also invested in a closed loop system for its vacuum pumps, which allows the facility to reuse the water needed for its production process.

“With this smart water submetering system, our Jackson plant has shown how equipment optimization and enhanced technology can have a huge impact,” said Joe Bondi, Vice President and General Manager of CertainTeed Sidings Product Group. “I would like to thank each member of the team for their help in achieving our industrial water withdrawal reduction goals and for their commitment to sustainability and minimizing our environmental footprint.”

In 1988, CertainTeed Siding began operations in Jackson, about 80 miles west of Detroit and where Saint-Gobain also operates a Research and Development Center. Today the plant is home to 230 employees and is hiring for several roles in engineering, administration and operations. A complete list of job openings at all Saint-Gobain locations, including the CertainTeed site in Jackson, can be found on the company’s website.

The investment in water-saving technology in Jackson follows several other recent actions taken by the company to solidify its commitment towards sustainability:

• In April, Saint-Gobain achieved Core Living Building Ready designation from the International Living Future Institute for its CertainTeed Innovation Center in Malvern, Pennsylvania.
• In March, Saint-Gobain announced that its CertainTeed Siding business had reduced manufacturing related emissions by 96% at three facilities in the United States.
• In February, Saint-Gobain completed the installation of a heat recovery system at its gypsum facility in Vancouver, British Columbia, which will lead to a 15% reduction in Scope 1 carbon emissions.
• In September, Saint-Gobain signed a 15-year, 100 MW power purchase agreement with TotalEnergies for the purchase of solar power, expected to offset Saint-Gobain North America’s CO2 emissions from electricity by 90,000 metric tons per year.
• In August, Saint-Gobain announced a circular economy initiative in its Ceramics business, where scrap finished goods from its Bryan, Texas facility are sent to other Saint-Gobain Ceramics plants to be reused in production, instead of ending in landfills.
• In July, the company announced upgrades at its CertainTeed Insulation plant in Athens, Georgia, which is projected to save over 7,300 MWh of energy and 20 million gallons of water annually, while reducing landfill waste by over 5,000 MT.
• Also in July, Saint-Gobain announced the opening of a new CertainTeed Architectural facility in Conyers, Georgia, which will be co-located with finishing partner QPC, allowing the company to drastically reduce the distance products must travel to finalize production, reducing carbon emissions by over 50 million pounds per year.
• In June, Saint-Gobain was awarded a 2023 SEAL Business Sustainability Award for its work to create the first “net zero-carbon” gypsum wallboard facility for scope 1 and 2 emissions in North America at its plant outside Montreal, Quebec.

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”.

€47.9 billion in sales in 2023 
160,000 employees, locations in 76 countries 
Committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050