Saint-Gobain to invest $32m for upgrading Chowchilla insulation plant

Saint-Gobain will invest $32 million for upgrading equipment at its insulation plant in Chowchilla, California to ramp up the production capacity of the facility by 13%.

The investment will be made via the firm’s building products subsidiary CertainTeed.

According to Saint-Gobain, the new oven, new furnace, and other new equipment to be installed at the insulation plant will use less natural gas and electricity. This will result in decreasing the carbon footprint of the facility by over 4,000 metric tons per year.

Saint-Gobain had first announced investments in its Chowchilla insulation plant in November 2021 as part of a larger expansion of its manufacturing facilities in the US with the injection of $400 million.

Saint-Gobain to invest $32m for upgrading CertainTeed’s Chowchilla insulation plant. Photo courtesy of Business Wire.

The furnace in the Chowchilla insulation facility melts recycled glass and sand into molten glass which is ultimately fiberized. Saint-Gobain revealed that the oven cures binding material which holds the fibers together to enable the insulation to take its final shape and dimensions.

The French construction firm said that the new equipment at Chowchilla has better energy efficiency than the current equipment.

Under the expansion project, the insulation plant of CertainTeed has also set up a new oxygen generation unit which is said to use 30% less electricity than the older equipment it will replace.

Andrew Goldberg — CertainTeed Insulation Product Group Vice President and General Manager said: “Our strategic investments in Chowchilla represent a major commitment to our customers on the West Coast for decades to come, ensuring that we will meet the need for our industry-leading fiberglass insulation at a time of unprecedented demand growth, all while reducing the plant’s carbon footprint.

“We will continue to strive to maximize our positive impact, for our customers and the communities where we do business, while minimizing our environmental footprint. We are grateful for the support we’ve received from our customers and the community, along with the hard work of the incredible team at our plant, as we begin this new chapter of our history in Chowchilla.”