News

Saint-Gobain, through its building products subsidiary CertainTeed LLC, today announced the company intends to build a new gypsum logistics facility that will be integrated into the remediation of a vacant Superfund site in Jacksonville, Florida, along the St. Johns River. The facility will create 32 jobs by the end of 2024 and have a $69.3 million capital investment.

CertainTeed’s construction of a terminal dock operation and other improvements will be integrated with the environmental remediation being managed by Greenfield Environmental Multistate Trust (Greenfield), the environmental response trustee that assumed responsibility in 2011 for the site located at 1611 Talleyrand Avenue. The Kerr-McGee Chemical Corp. Site has been unused since 1978 and was formerly used to manufacture fertilizer and formulate pesticides.

Construction is expected to begin in 2022 after the final remedial design is approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the State of Florida. Greenfield and CertainTeed will be coordinating portions of the cleanup that are required for the CertainTeed facility for an estimated total cost of $70 million. The remainder of the remedy will be implemented by Greenfield. Cleanup activities will be performed under EPA oversight in consultation with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

The new dock will support CertainTeed’s nearby wallboard plant in Palatka and strengthen the company’s supply chain throughout the southeastern United States.

CertainTeed’s construction of the logistics facility and its other improvements will be supported by $3.4 Million in property tax incentives approved last night by Jacksonville City Council.

“We are deeply grateful to the City of Jacksonville for their support of our new logistics facility on the St. Johns River, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with Greenfield to ensure the responsible stewardship of this Superfund site,” said Jay Bachmann, Vice President and General Manager of CertainTeed Gypsum Product Group. “This project will return a heavily contaminated Superfund site to productive use, creating dozens of full-time jobs and strengthening our company’s ability to serve our customers.”

CertainTeed’s planned reuse of the Superfund site in Jacksonville follows several other major investments this year towards environmental sustainability. In March, the company signed a 12-year power purchase agreement for 120 megawatts of renewable energy from a wind farm in McLean County, Illinois. In August, the company launched “Sustaining Futures, Raising Communities,” a program that will bring more sustainable construction to neighborhoods across North America.