Efficiencies realized over 37 years of operating its old research and development lab in Blue Bell have translated to a new East Whiteland lab for CertainTeed that’s 60 percent smaller.
“We didn’t really give up any capabilities when we moved it here,” Vice President of Research and Development Minas Apelian said in Philly.com coverage of a recent tour of the new facility, which opened in October 2014. “(The old R&D center) wasn’t designed the way you would design a modern laboratory.”
Meanwhile, the under-construction headquarters for parent company Saint-Gobain next door is enlarging its footprint by 100,000 square feet compared to the current HQ in Valley Forge. Among the goals for the co-located facilities is an increase in collaboration between engineers and sales and marketing teams.
CertainTeed’s new lab — focused on innovations in roofing, ceilings, insulation, gypsum wallboard and drywall —brings 80 employees to Chester County, and the Saint-Gobain facility, slated to open this fall, will bring more than 800 people in.
Read more about the new CertainTeed and Saint-Gobain facilities, the company’s rich history as a leader in building materials and some of the products under testing at the R&D lab on Philly.com here.
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Top photo credit: edgygrrrl via photopin cc
