News Release

Saint-Gobain marked the completion of the move of the its Performance Plastics manufacturing facility from Seattle to a new location in Puyallup with a ceremony earlier today attended by Washington Governor Chris Gregoire, company executives from throughout North America, as well as business and community leaders.

The 94-employee facility at 507 North Levee Road in Puyallup manufactures high-performance plastics and composite parts, primarily for the aerospace industry.

The new 109,000-square-foot Puyallup plant has a layout superior to the Seattle premises, allowing the operation to transition from six different buildings to a single building with all stages of production under one roof. The move gives the operation room to expand, and also enables the company to streamline production and reduce energy consumption. Saint-Gobain installed new energy-efficient lighting in the building and doubled the power available to run plant machinery. Laboratory and product inspection facilities were also added.

The move from Seattle to Puyallup began last spring and was completed earlier this year without production interruptions.

"The move to Puyallup emphasizes our commitment to our customers and employees, and to the state of Washington," says Gilles Colas, Saint-Gobain's General Delegate for North America. "This helps to keep our company competitive and lays the foundation for future growth, and is an important investment in the Pacific Northwest."

With more than 1,000 subsidiaries in 64 countries, Saint-Gobain is the world's largest manufacturer and distributor of building materials, and is a leader in the production of high-performance materials and glass containers. The company's mission is to be a world leader in offering innovative solutions to today's critical challenges of growth, energy-efficient building and protecting the environment.

Founded in 1665 and headquartered in Paris, Saint-Gobain had worldwide sales of $53 billion in 2009 and 190,000 employees. In the United States and Canada, Saint-Gobain employs approximately 19,000 people, and had sales of $6.8 billion in 2009. In 2009 and 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency named Saint-Gobain ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year, a national award that recognizes environmentally responsible corporations.

Saint-Gobain businesses include CertainTeed (Valley Forge, Pennsylvania), Norandex Building Materials Distribution (Hudson, Ohio); Saint-Gobain Abrasives (Worcester, Massachusetts); Saint-Gobain Crystals (Hiram, Ohio); Saint-Gobain Containers (Muncie, Indiana); Saint-Gobain NorPro (Stow, Ohio); Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics (Aurora, Ohio); and Saint-Gobain Technical Fabrics (Grand Island, New York). In Washington, the company has approximately 900 employees, with major production facilities in Auburn, Kent, Puyallup and Seattle.

Saint-Gobain's Performance Plastics business, of which the Puyallup operation is a part, is headquartered in Aurora, Ohio, and employs 4,400 people in 15 countries. It is a world leader in high-performance plastics, including flexible tubing applications, seals, coated fabrics, films, foams, polymer products and bearings.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Bill Seiberlich
Communications Manager, Saint-Gobain
610-341-7187
610-341-7777
william.seiberlich@saint-gobain.com
http://www.saint-gobain-northamerica.com