How the French Saint-Gobain wants to conquer America


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The three-century-old building materials company has invested $5 billion in the United States. A market of the future.




By Mary Bordet

The Saint-Gobain plasterboard plant, located in Buchanan, on the Hudson River, operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to deliver New York and its region.
The Saint-Gobain plasterboard plant, located in Buchanan, on the Hudson River, operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to deliver New York and its region.
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Saint-Gobain has a particularity that makes all its charm, a unique claim to fame within French capitalism: it is the oldest company in the CAC 40. Created by Jean-Baptiste Colbert in 1665, during the reign of Louis XIV, Saint-Gobain was first called the Manufacture royale des glaces, and aimed to compete with the Venetians in the production of mirrors.

This magnificent heritage – proof of a phenomenal capacity for resilience in the face of historical accidents such as wars or revolutions – sometimes proves to be heavy to bear, 357 years later. “The perception of what Saint-Gobain is today is not always accurate”, assures Benoît Bazin, general manager of the company since the summer of 2021, after more than twenty-four years of good and loyal service. in the…


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