SAINT-GOBAIN, HABITAT AND CONSTRUCTION MARKET WORLD LEADER
CELEBRATES ITS 350th ANNVERSARY
Founded in 1665 in Paris, SAINT-GOBAIN world leader in the habitat and construction markets celebrated its 350th anniversary last year. The French company is headquartered in the outskirts of Paris at La Défense, Europe’s largest purpose-built business district.
Steeped in history, SAINT-GOBAIN has its origins in the mirror industry of the 17th century, during the heyday of a predominant France under the rule of Louis XIV and his Minister of Finance, Jean-Baptiste Colbert. During that period the French company took an important part in the construction of the Hall of Mirrors (Galerie des Glaces), the central gallery of the Palace of Versailles.
The 20th century saw the engineers of SAINT-GOBAIN meeting an important prestigious challenge, that of the pyramid glass structure outside the Louvre museum. The firm again rose to the occasion by providing a groundbreaking strong and yet light, perfectly transparent glass.
The last century also saw SAINT-GOBAIN adding fiberglass, for insulation and industrial textiles, to its glassware manufacturing . Sales kept developing fast thanks to innovating techniques, used notably in the automobile industry. One of them prevents glass from shattering during an accident.
