French Building Giant Saint-Gobain Aims to Solve U.S. Housing Crisis

Company focuses on speed, affordability, and sustainability through new construction methods and materials.

Feb. 10, 2026 at 9:15am

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French building products conglomerate Saint-Gobain is doubling down on its investment in the North American market, with a focus on addressing the U.S. housing shortage through innovative construction techniques and sustainable materials. The company's "One Precision" assembly system uses factory-constructed wall, floor, and roof panels to accelerate home building by up to 50%, while also protecting against weather delays and labor shortages.

Why it matters

Saint-Gobain's strategy of "local for local" production in states like Florida, Georgia, and New York helps insulate it from tariffs impacting many U.S. homebuilders. The company's emphasis on sustainability and climate resilience also aligns with growing consumer demand for energy-efficient and disaster-resistant homes, even as political support for climate-related goals has waned.

The details

Saint-Gobain has invested close to $7 billion in the North American market in the last three years, making it the largest region for the global company. Its "One Precision" assembly system replaces traditional "stick-built" framing with factory-constructed panels, accelerating home building by shifting labor to a controlled indoor environment. The company says this can cut building cycle times by 30% to 50%. Saint-Gobain is also expanding its manufacturing facilities, including a significant expansion of its CertainTeed gypsum wallboard plant in Palatka, Florida, to ensure supply chain reliability in the rapidly growing regional market.

  • Saint-Gobain started its business more than 350 years ago, making mirrors for the Palace of Versailles.
  • The company has invested close to $7 billion in the North American market in the last three years.
  • CertainTeed, a Saint-Gobain subsidiary, finished a significant expansion at its Palatka, Florida, operation in the fall of 2025.

The players

Saint-Gobain

A French building product conglomerate that has been in business for more than 350 years, making it the largest for the global company in the North American market.

Mark Rayfield

The North America CEO for Saint-Gobain.

CertainTeed

A subsidiary of Saint-Gobain that recently finished a significant expansion at its Palatka, Florida, gypsum wallboard manufacturing plant.

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What they’re saying

“We're doubling down in North America because the fundamentals in North America are very strong. We're underbuilt in residential. There's a need for almost 4 million homes to be built in the U.S. to catch up with population growth, and there's a lot of renovation needed in commercial.”

— Mark Rayfield, North America CEO, Saint-Gobain

“If you're building a home, or you are a small homebuilder, you're building 10 to 15 homes a year. If you were to use this solution, you could build three times that number of homes, because the big time is framing in and weatherproofing the house.”

— Mark Rayfield, North America CEO, Saint-Gobain

“We know we need to make products that are affordable for the customer, and where we can do that in a lower carbon footprint, we do. And resilience is the key to what we need to do going forward.”

— Mark Rayfield, North America CEO, Saint-Gobain

What’s next

Saint-Gobain plans to continue expanding its manufacturing facilities and investing in new construction technologies to address the U.S. housing shortage and demand for more sustainable, resilient homes.

The takeaway

Saint-Gobain's focus on speed, affordability, and sustainability through innovative construction methods and materials positions the company to play a significant role in solving the U.S. housing crisis, while also meeting growing consumer demand for energy-efficient and disaster-resistant homes.