Tag: 3BL

• Now in its third year in partnership with Discovery Education, Honda Safety Driven uses STEAM educational principles to help students develop real-world safe driving habits
• New video series boosts safety awareness with three Honda-powered racing champions, Indy 500 winner Scott Dixon and AMA Pro Motocross champions Jett and Hunter Lawrence
• Initiative aims to help address nearly one-third of annual traffic fatalities in the U.S. involving drivers under the age of 25

TORRANCE, Calif. and CHARLOTTE, N.C., October 20, 2025 /3BL/ – In the midst of Teen Driver Safety Week, Honda and Discovery Education have launched year three of the innovative Honda Safety Driven young driver safety initiative with new educational content featuring IndyCar driver and Indy 500 winner Scott Dixon and champion motocross riders Jett and Hunter Lawrence of the Honda HRC Progressive racing team. The racers are featured in a new two-part video series titled Honda Safety in Action: From Racetrack to Roadway – It Takes All of Us, demonstrating how racing at high speeds should inspire real-world safe riding and driving habits. To access Honda Safety Driven resources, please visit hondasafetydriven.discoveryeducation.com.

“We are thrilled to feature Honda-powered champion riders like Jett and Hunter Lawrence and Indy 500 winner Scott Dixon as they help inspire and educate the next generation of safe riders and drivers through our Honda Safety Driven initiative,” said MJ Foxley, Safety Strategy Leader at American Honda Motor Co., Inc. “Now in its third year, Honda Safety Driven continues to introduce innovative and unexpected ways to engage and educate young people about traffic safety with nearly one million students reached in the first two years and counting.”

The first part of the video series focuses on two-wheel vehicle safety, including bikes, e-bikes, scooters, and motorcycles, with Jett Lawrence, who won the 2025 AMA Pro Motocross 450 Class championship, his second, and his brother Hunter, the 2025 runner-up. Part two of the series explores four-wheel vehicle safety with 6-time IndyCar series Driver’s Champion Scott Dixon, along with Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) engineers. Together, the videos are a new way to interest and engage with students by translating elite racing insights into practical, everyday safety tips. In addition, the Honda Safety in Action: From Racetrack to Roadway video series features accompanying standards-aligned classroom activities, educator resources, and at-home materials.

“Teen Driver Safety Week offers the perfect opportunity to talk to students about driver safety, and this engaging new content from Honda and Discovery Education can play a key role in supporting those conversations,” said Catherine Dunlop, Senior Vice President of Corporate Partnerships at Discovery Education. “By showing how seriously professional racers treat safety on an everyday basis, we’re helping students understand the importance of making smart choices.”

In 2023, Honda and Discovery Education launched Honda Safety Driven as a multi-year safety initiative to help address the nearly one-third of annual traffic fatalities in the U.S. involving drivers under the age of 25. Now in its third year after reaching nearly one million students, the national safety education initiative uses real-world applications and practices of STEAM, aiming to empower students to use safe driving skills as a roadmap to become responsible decision-makers. Discovery Education is the maker of essential PreK-12 learning solutions used in classrooms around the world.

To advance safety initiatives in the community, Honda and the Honda USA Foundation have contributed more than $8 million to nonprofit organizations and schools over the past 4 years, supporting programs that promote safe driving practices, awareness and education both on and off the road. These programs include education, training, and resources that supplement or go beyond traditional driver’s training courses or mandated state driver’s programs.

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Honda Commitment to Safety 
Honda is committed to further advancing safety for everyone sharing the road, which is captured in the Honda global safety slogan “Safety for Everyone.” The company has established a global goal to achieve zero traffic collision fatalities involving Honda motorcycles and automobiles by 2050. To achieve this goal, Honda is expanding its focus beyond advanced safety and driver assistive technologies alone, to include efforts to augment safety awareness to modify driver behavior and improve the traffic safety ecosystem by working with government, industry and community partners. 

Honda operates two of the world’s most sophisticated crash-test facilities in Ohio and Japan, and is responsible for numerous pioneering efforts in crashworthiness, collision compatibility and pedestrian safety. 

Advanced passive safety features include the proprietary Honda Advanced Compatibility Engineering™ (ACE™) body structure and next-generation driver and passenger front airbag technology, which are designed to provide a high level of collision protection for occupants. Advanced active safety and driver-assistive systems found in Honda Sensing® and AcuraWatch™ technologies, now on over 9.5 million vehicles on U.S. roads, are designed to reduce the frequency and severity of collisions while also serving as a technological and perceptual bridge to the more highly automated vehicles of the future. 

Learn more at https://www.honda.com/safety.

About Discovery Education 
Discovery Education is the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art, PreK-12, digital solutions help educators engage all students and support higher academic achievement. Through award-winning multimedia content, instructional supports, and innovative classroom tools that are effective, engaging, and easy to use, Discovery Education helps educators deliver powerful learning experiences. Discovery Education serves approximately 4.5 million educators and 45 million students worldwide, and its resources are accessed in over 100 countries and territories. Through partnerships with districts, states, and trusted organizations, Discovery Education empowers teachers with essential edtech solutions that inspire curiosity, build confidence, and accelerate learning. Learn more at www.discoveryeducation.com.

Contacts

Chris Martin
Honda
Email: Chris_Martin@na.honda.com

Grace Maliska
Discovery Education
Email: gmaliska@discoveryed.com

By Jason Hartke, Ph.D.

With over a decade of experience in the smart buildings industry, Kashif Mughees, who leads commercial and partnerships at WellStat, has built a career on turning complex energy and environmental challenges into opportunities for organizations to embrace solutions that yield powerful economic benefits. An engineer by training, Kashif’s work stands at the intersection of technology, data and human impact, partnering with leaders from across the public and private sectors to apply innovative solutions that advance energy security, environmental performance and healthier indoor spaces.

At its core, WellStat is helping reshape what it means to manage building performance, leveraging intelligent energy solutions and building analytics to help businesses achieve healthier, smarter and more sustainable spaces. The company’s approach combines industry knowledge with real-time insights and IoT analytics, improving operational performance while helping organizations optimize for health.

Kashif has been at the heart of this work, driven by a passion for sustainable energy management, cross-sector collaboration, and data-driven innovation. We sat down with him to learn more about the work WellStat is leading and how the company is addressing today’s most pressing challenges and empowering market leaders to champion health, sustainability, and long-term business resilience.

Q: How do you see the relationship between energy efficiency and indoor air quality evolving and what kind of synergies should the industry be driving to advance both?
For too long, energy efficiency and indoor air quality have been treated as trade-offs: save energy or improve comfort. Today, we have the tools and intelligence to achieve both.

In my experience, fine-tuning building systems through real-time insights can reduce waste and maintain healthy air at the same time. For example, in one project, simply adjusting HVAC start times cut energy use without affecting comfort. In another, tracking indoor air quality helped uncover efficiencies that, once fixed, improved both ventilation and performance. Demand Control Ventilation is a great example of this synergy in action, using live occupancy and air quality data to optimize airflow, reduce energy consumption, and maintain healthier environments.

It’s important to stop treating health and efficiency as separate goals and start measuring how they work together to improve overall building performance.

Q: From your perspective, what is the business case for investing in buildings that prioritize health, well-being and sustainability? How do you communicate that to organizations you work with?
The value is clear. Healthier buildings are higher performing assets. They attract and retain talent, reduce operational risk and strengthen long-term value.

I often say, if you can measure it, you can prove it, and if you can prove it, you can scale it. That is where data comes in. When leaders see tangible results such as improved air quality, reduced energy costs and greater occupant satisfaction, the conversation shifts from compliance to commercial advantage.

Even in residential developments, we are seeing growing interest in WELL-aligned design and monitoring. Healthier air, balanced humidity and thermal comfort reduce risks associated with damp and mould, while improving overall indoor quality and occupant well-being. These improvements do not just make homes healthier; they protect asset value, reduce maintenance costs and strengthen community trust.

Ultimately, prioritizing health delivers value for occupants while supporting long-term financial performance.

Q: Many organizations face difficulties in implementing these building strategies, such as cost constraints or new technology adoption. What are some of the biggest challenges you see in the field today and how are you working with stakeholders to overcome them?
The challenge is usually not the technology. It’s getting different teams aligned. Facilities, sustainability and finance teams often have different success metrics. Our job is to connect those dots through shared outcomes.

We typically start small with a pilot project that proves measurable impact. Once the data speaks for itself, adoption accelerates across the portfolio. For example, demonstrating how small operational changes can lead to both lower energy costs and better IAQ helps shift the mindset from “new cost” to “new value.”

By focusing on visibility, evidence and shared success metrics, we help organisations move from good intentions to scalable results.

Q: As the demand for healthy buildings continues to grow, how is WellStat helping demonstrate the value proposition and where do you see the strongest market drivers helping build momentum?
WellStat is helping organisations quantify what matters most, the measurable link between healthier spaces, operational performance and financial outcomes.

Our analytics platform captures real-time data on air quality, energy and environmental performance, turning it into clear, actionable insights. That enables leaders to demonstrate, not just declare, that their spaces are healthier and more efficient.

Momentum is building across sectors:

• Corporate real estate leaders are investing to attract and retain talent.
• Developers and owners see WELL as a differentiator in competitive markets.
• Investors are demanding transparency and data-backed proof of impact.

We are moving into an era where sustainability, health and performance are one conversation, and the organisations that understand that will lead the market.

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ALEXANDRIA, Va., October 20, 2025 /3BL/ – The Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI), an initiative of the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA), today announced its Responsible Minerals Assurance Process (RMAP) is the first supply chain due diligence scheme to be officially recognized by the European Commission for EU importers’ Conflict Minerals Regulation compliance.

The Conflict Minerals Regulation (CMR) is designed to ensure the supply chain practices of EU importers and of smelters and refiners sourcing from conflict-affected and high-risk areas are transparent and responsible. The CMR is built on the concept of risk-based due diligence as described in the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk areas. The European Commission found the RMI’s RMAP standards and implementation to be fully aligned with the requirements of the CMR and OECD Guidance.

While EU importers are ultimately responsible for their individual compliance with CMR due diligence obligations, a supply chain due diligence scheme that is recognized by the European Commission, such as the RMI’s RMAP, can help enable importers to comply with their obligations under the CMR. Those obligations include management system, risk management, third-party audit, and disclosure obligations.

EU recognition of the RMI’s RMAP covers the RMAP Tin and Tantalum Standard, the RMAP Tungsten Standard, and the RMAP Gold Standard. The recognition only applies to the RMAP scheme and to smelters/refiners conformant with the RMAP standards, not to other schemes the RMI may cross-recognize.

“The Responsible Minerals Initiative is proud to be the first organization to have its supply chain due diligence scheme recognized by the European Commission,” said Jennifer Peyser, Executive Director of the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI). “RMI RMAP recognition supports the fundamental due diligence objectives in the CMR and OECD Guidance, expands the value of RMAP participation for smelters and refiners, and provides a practical compliance tool for EU importers. The RMI valued the recognition process for its independent program review, and we commit to advancing CMR implementation and industry uptake of meaningful due diligence practices and reporting.”

The European Commission is planning to create a “List of global responsible smelters and refiners” based on smelters and refiners covered by recognized supply chain due diligence schemes and information submitted by Member States as part of their annual report on the implementation of the CMR. It is in the interest of EU importers to provide evidence of conformity with the RMI’s RMAP to the relevant Member State Competent Authorities as soon as possible. The RMI also encourages RMAP-conformant smelters and refiners to provide assessment reports to covered EU importers, to support their compliance with the CMR.

Learn more about the RMI’s Responsible Minerals Assurance Process (RMAP) on the RMI website and contact RMI@responsiblebusiness.org for more information on the RMAP.

View the European Commission’s announcement about RMAP here, details on its Implementing Decision here, and FAQs on the recognition of schemes under the Conflict Minerals Regulation here.

About the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI) 
The Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI), an initiative of the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA), is a multi-industry initiative with more than 500 member companies. Its members contribute to the development and international uptake of a range of tools and resources focused on minerals supply chain due diligence, including independent third-party assessments for smelters, Minerals Reporting Templates, supply chain risk assessment tools, and guidance documents on responsible sourcing of all minerals/metals. RMI members also have access to specialized due diligence tools, including country of origin data and the RMI Facility Database. The RMI runs regular workshops on responsible sourcing issues and contributes to policy development with civil society organizations and governments. For more information, visit ResponsibleMineralsInitiative.org

Media Contact
Jarrett Bens, Senior Director of Communications
Responsible Business Alliance
Phone: +1 571.858.5721
jbens@responsiblebusiness.org
 

Shari Werwinski is Trane Technologies’ first female plant leader in La Crosse, Wisconsin – and she’s building something far bigger than world-class chillers. She’s building a legacy of leadership, grit and mentorship. With nearly three decades at the company, her journey is a prime example of what’s possible for anyone in a manufacturing career.

VIDEO: Women in Leadership: Shari Werwinski on Leading a Winning Team

Finding purpose on the Trane Technologies factory floor

“I lead the plant that builds the best chillers on the market. I get to set my team up for success every single day… and it’s the best job I’ve ever had.”

Shari Werwinski
Plant Manager, Trane Technologies, La Crosse Wisconsin

This is how Shari explains her role at Trane Technologies to friends and family. After beginning her career in finance, she steadily worked her way up into a leadership role. But it wasn’t until she stepped into a rapid improvement event on the factory floor that her true calling emerged. “I absolutely loved it. I loved being part of the team. I loved engaging with the hourly technicians and seeing product go down the factory floor,” she says. “I wanted to be part of that.”

And she made it happen, first as plant controller, and now as the plant leader guiding her team through one of the most exciting chapters in La Crosse’s history.

Meeting unprecedented demand through scalability and sustainability 

When Shari took the reins, the La Crosse plant was facing an extraordinary opportunity: unprecedented customer demand for large-capacity chillers. Meeting that demand meant scaling quickly, efficiently and sustainably. The team built a new chiller manufacturing line within 18 months and stands ready to further expand capacity as needed to support business growth. These machines aren’t just any chillers; they’re part of Trane’s innovative heat recovery technology that offers both heating and cooling in one system. This helps customers reduce emissions further, potentially eliminating the need for separate boilers altogether.

“We’re helping our customers meet their sustainability goals. That’s what they want, and that’s what we’re delivering.”

How Trane Technologies’ cross-functional teams build innovation into every chiller

The success of this growth was a full-team effort, from product managers gathering customer insights, to engineers turning those insights into world-class designs, to Shari’s operations team bringing those designs to life.

“We know to start with ‘What does the customer want?’ Then, ‘How do we make it a reality for them?’” says Shari proudly. “A lot of customers come to Trane Technologies with requests that nobody else can do. And we can do it because we’re the best in the business, and we have the team that can make it happen.”

The winning mindset that drives manufacturing leadership

This spirit of collaboration, positivity and customer centricity doesn’t stop at the factory floor. In fact, it’s embedded in how Shari shows up as a leader each and every day, something she learned from her own mentors. “I like to work hard. And I’ve been lucky to learn from great leaders, including one who told me, ‘Shari, I don’t care about a title. Check it at the door. I come to work to win every single day. That’s it.’ I hold that statement with me every morning when I walk through the door. And I tell it to my team, too. Even on the bad days, we’re still winning.”

Why mentorship is central to leadership at Trane Technologies

Part of the winning culture Shari is building has to do with her consistent thirst for knowledge and growth – and her drive to pass that on to others. “I love that, at Trane Technologies, I learn something new every single day. Even after 27 years, I keep learning and growing and developing. I’ve been fortunate to have great leaders on my journey, and I want to pay that forward to people who want to be leaders and grow with the organization.”

That’s why Shari began mentoring through both formal leadership programs and one-on-one support. “Trane has been around 112 years. It’s my job as a leader to develop our teams and keep them growing so we can be around for another 112.”

Looking for a place where leadership, learning and innovation go hand in hand? Trane Technologies is hiring!

Explore careers in manufacturing and engineering at Trane Technologies.

Learn more about our culture and purpose.

 

LEEDS, United Kingdom, October 20, 2025 /3BL/ – Antea Group UK is pleased to welcome Bryan Taylor as the Service Line Director for Insurance. After more than two decades with Antea Group USA, most recently leading the firm’s Insurance Sub-Segment and market strategy, Bryan has taken on a new role with Antea Group UK and will be based in the London area.

Bryan brings a global perspective and a strong commitment to helping clients navigate environmental risk and sustainability challenges. In his new role, he will lead Antea Group’s efforts in the UK to expand and enhance services for the insurance sector. He will focus on delivering practical, data-driven solutions to complex environmental risk and sustainability needs.

Bryan is excited to collaborate with colleagues and clients across the UK and internationally to continue building resilient, sustainable outcomes for the industries Antea Group serves.

“We are very happy to welcome Bryan to Antea Group UK,” says Alex Ferguson, CEO of Antea Group UK. “In addition to his wide technical and commercial experience and strong relationships with both clients and our colleagues across Antea Group USA, Bryan also brings a clear perspective on the US interpretation of environmental risk. This provides us our company in the UK with a unique ability to advise our US clients as they seek to interpret UK and EU environmental risk in the context of a US investment case.”

About Antea Group UK

Antea Group is an international engineering and environmental consulting firm specializing in full-service solutions in the fields of environment, infrastructure, urban planning and water. By combining strategic thinking and multidisciplinary perspectives with technical expertise and pragmatic action, we do more than effectively solve client challenges; we deliver sustainable results for a better future. With more than 3,250 employees in over 100 offices around the world, we serve clients ranging from global energy companies and manufacturers to national governments and local municipalities. Learn more: www.anteagroup.uk.

CNH brand New Holland, a global leader in agricultural innovation, will participate in FIRA USA, the premier event for agricultural robotics and automation, reaffirming its commitment to sustainable farming practices.

New Holland’s presence at FIRA USA – From October 21 – 23 – highlights its dedication to environmental stewardship through advanced technologies that support automation, precision agriculture, and regenerative farming. By equipping farmers with tools that enhance productivity while minimizing environmental impact, New Holland is helping shape a more sustainable future for agriculture.

Held in Woodland, California, FIRA USA brings together farmers, industry leaders, startups, scientists, and investors to collaborate on the future of eco-conscious farming.

A key feature of New Holland’s showcase will be the T4.120F specialty tractor paired with a precision fan sprayer using the Raven Air Blast Sprayer Kit. Tailored for vineyards and specialty crops, this system is already available to customers and represents a major step forward in sustainable spraying practices.

This advanced system is designed to eliminate application overlaps and skips through coverage sharing, the system increases daily coverage by up to 20% and reduces crop protection input use by up to 10%. These improvements translate into lower chemical usage, reduced waste, and cost savings for growers, all while promoting environmentally responsible agriculture.

Read the full article here

In response to back-to-back storms spurred by Typhoon Halong in western Alaska, Direct Relief is dispatching medical and financial support to impacted communities in the state, where more than 1,000 people have been displaced.

Winds of more than 100 miles per hour ripped homes from their foundations, and record tidal surges inundated communities in the western part of the state on Sunday. At least one person has died as a result of the floods, and two remain missing, according to state agencies. Many people are sheltering in local schools or community centers, and critical infrastructure has been damaged.

The storm’s impacts were most significant in low-lying areas of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region in western Alaska, including the communities of Kwigillingok, Kipnuk, and Napakiak. The remote area has limited road access, making emergency response and aid distribution challenging. Many communities can only be reached by boat or plane, and a critical airport in the community of Kipnuk has sustained damage. 

Direct Relief’s Response

Direct Relief has been in communication with local healthcare providers and tribal organizations across the state about ongoing medical requests.

On Wednesday, the organization shipped emergency medical aid requested by the Alaska Native Heritage Center, or ANHC, located in Anchorage. A part of a statewide coalition of organizations, ANHC is working to coordinate relief provisions to directly impacted individuals. The organization is coordinating material aid to areas of greatest need, providing financial assistance to displaced families, and coordinating transportation of supplies to Southwest Alaska. In the past, ANHC provided donations to those impacted by Typhoon Merbok in 2022 and community preparedness while monitoring volcanic activity from Mount Spurr earlier this year.

The shipment to ANHC included field medic packs, which contain first aid essentials for triage care outside of clinic walls and are used by healthcare providers and first responders in disaster settings, including basic medical needs in shelters.

Direct Relief is also preparing to ship requested personal care items, including soap, shampoo, and dental hygiene products for people who have been displaced by the storm. ANHC will also receive $50,000 to support emergency response costs.

Direct Relief has provided more than $5 million in medical and financial support to organizations across the state since 2008, and has provided support after other extreme weather events in the region, including 2022’s Typhoon Merbok, which impacted western Alaska.

The organization continues to reach out and offer assistance to organizations supporting the impacted region and will continue to respond to immediate and long-term needs as they become known.

Key Points

• A tribal community in New Mexico is celebrating the first paved parking area ever at its community services complex, which was surrounded only by dirt for years.
• The Pueblo of Zia held a community gathering to mark completion of the project, which eliminated drainage issues and provides access to people in wheelchairs.
• The Pueblo’s administration collaborated on the project with Marathon Petroleum’s midstream affiliate, MPLX, which funded and coordinated the work.

October 17, 2025 /3BL/ – Keresan-speaking Indians have continuously occupied the Pueblo of Zia in north-central New Mexico for more than 600 years, and the pueblo’s familiar sun symbol is the official insignia on the New Mexico state flag. Recently, the Zia Pueblo celebrated another historical milestone of a much different kind: installation of an asphalt parking lot at its community services complex.

“The newly paved parking lot marks a monumental achievement for our community, as it is the first of its kind in the pueblo’s history,” said Pueblo of Zia Tribal Administrator Angela Young-Geffre. “Previously, this area was a rugged expanse of dirt and rocks that posed challenges, particularly during rainy weather when it turned into a muddy hazard.”

Marathon Petroleum’s midstream affiliate, MPLX, collaborated with the Pueblo of Zia’s administration to execute the project. Planning, funding and coordination came through MPLX’s Natural Gas and NGL Services (NG & NGL Services) component, which operates a pipeline that crosses Zia Pueblo land.

 “The newly paved parking lot marks a monumental achievement for our community, as it is the first of its kind in the pueblo’s history.”

“The leadership explained to our project team how life-changing it would be to have a paved parking lot, which most of us might take for granted,” NG & NGL Services Senior Engineer Cheol Kim said. “The existing grade at the complex prevented wheelchair access and caused water to pool that led to mud being tracked into buildings, so we designed adjustments to redirect stormwater runoff away from buildings and add an ADA-compliant (Americans with Disabilities Act) ramp.”

The project took four weeks to complete. It culminated with a community celebration that attracted almost 400 people.

“We began conversations about this project with the Pueblo of Zia’s government three years ago, so seeing the quality of the finished project and the community come together for a celebration was very rewarding,” said MPLX Tribal Government Affairs Manager V.J. Smith, who attended the pueblo’s gathering.

Young-Geffre noted that she looks forward to the continued positive impacts of this project for years to come, pointing to a recent example.

“The response from local children has been particularly heartwarming,” she said. “They have embraced the new paved surface, eagerly gathering after school and on weekends to ride their bicycles and scooters, making joyful memories on this smooth new terrain.”

Saint-Gobain, through its building product subsidiary CertainTeed Interior Products Group, today held a ribbon cutting ceremony to mark completion of major expansion activities at its CertainTeed Gypsum manufacturing facility in Palatka, Florida. First announced in 2023, the project has doubled production capacity at the facility and will create 110 new jobs in the greater Jacksonville area.

The event, hosted at the facility, included remarks from Saint-Gobain North America President and CEO Mark Rayfield, President of CertainTeed Interior Projects Group Jay Bachmann, Putnam County Chamber of Commerce CEO Laura Pavlus and JAXUSA Vice President of Business Development John Freeman. In addition to ribbon cutting celebrations, today’s event included remarks from Greer Horne, Vice President of Corporate Partnerships at Susan G. Komen to commemorate the strong partnership between CertainTeed and Susan G. Komen.

Now the largest gypsum wallboard manufacturing facility in the world, replacing its sister site in Silver Grove, Kentucky, the additional production volume will help CertainTeed to meet growing demand, especially in the southeastern United States. With advanced, energy-efficient technology, including a new industrial dryer, the plant is equipped to enhance its production efficiency and capacity. With practices already in place to recycle and reuse gypsum material, the plant will continue its work to promote circular economy practices in its production to further reduce waste.

“As a vital part of our operations, the expansion of our production activities in Palatka is a testament to our commitment to serving our customers, especially in the fast growing southeastern United States market,” said Mark Rayfield, President and Chief Executive Officer of Saint-Gobain and CertainTeed. “Congratulations to the entire team in Palatka and all of our partners who made this project possible. Together, we will work to continue providing high-quality gypsum wallboard solutions that builders and homeowners rely on.”

“Today’s ribbon cutting ceremony in Palatka is the culmination of years of hard work to ensure we continue to deliver on our promise to provide high-quality, state-of-the-art gypsum wallboard products to our customers,” said Jay Bachmann, President of CertainTeed Interior Products Group.

“I would like to thank our entire plant and construction team, the Palatka community, Putnam County, and the State of Florida for all of their support on this project that will serve the entire southeastern United States and bring quality, high-paying jobs to the local area.”

The project was generously supported with 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.

The plant, which first began operations in 2001 is one of the largest employers in Palatka and Putnam County. A current list of job openings at CertainTeed Palatka and all Saint-Gobain locations, can be found on the company’s career website.

Today’s announcement comes as Saint-Gobain celebrates its 360 year anniversary, and continues to strengthen its presence in North America, now one of Saint-Gobain’s largest markets by revenue. Other recent investments include:

• Last month, Saint-Gobain and CertainTeed Canada celebrated the completion of expansion activities at its gypsum wallboard facility in Sainte-Catherine, Quebec, outside of Montreal. This project included the complete electrification of the facility, making it the first net-zero gypsum wallboard plant (scopes 1 and 2) in North America and the largest in the world;
• In February, Saint-Gobain NorPro announced it will begin a $40 million investment to build a new ceramics facility in Wheatfield, New York.
• CertainTeed Roofing is nearing completion of two major projects, including a $100 million expansion at its CertainTeed Roofing facility in Peachtree City, Georgia and a new glass mat facility in Oxford, North Carolina, both of which will further support the fast-growing market in the southeast United States.

About CertainTeed

With innovative building solutions made possible through its comprehensive offering of interior and exterior products, CertainTeed is transforming how the industry builds. As leaders in building science and sustainable construction, CertainTeed makes it easier than ever to create high-performance, energy-efficient places to live, work and play, so that together we can make the world a better home. 

A subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, one of the world’s largest and oldest building products companies, CertainTeed has more than 6,900 employees and more than 60 manufacturing facilities throughout the United States and Canada. 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, celebrating its 360^th anniversary in 2025, remains more committed than ever to its purpose “MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER HOME”.

https://www.saint-gobain-northamerica.com/careers

€46.6 billion in sales in 2024
More than 161,000 employees, locations in 80 countries 
Committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050

 

We’re excited to announce that we were recently recognized by Chartwell as the Silver Best Practices Award recipient for Excellence in Serving Vulnerable Customers at the EMACS awards ceremony. This is an honor that highlights our consumer and advocacy team’s commitment to innovation and equity in customer service. The award recognizes the launch of our digital LIHEAP platform, a 24/7 online application system designed to streamline access to energy assistance for our customers in need.

The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program has long been a critical resource for households struggling to afford their energy bills. Our digital transformation of this process marks a significant leap forward in accessibility and responsiveness to help our customers in need. The new platform allows our customers to submit applications, upload required documents and receive real-time updates on their application status — all from the convenience of their mobile device or computer.

The platform also enables expedited issue resolution, helping to prevent unnecessary service disconnections and facilitating reconnections within minutes. This rapid response capability is especially vital for vulnerable households, where even a short disruption in service can have serious consequences.

Chartwell’s recognition of our efforts underscores a broader industry shift toward digital equity and customer-centric service models. As we continue to innovate and enhance our services, we remain dedicated to ensuring that every customer, regardless of their circumstances, has the support they need to maintain stable and affordable energy access.

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