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My Journey in Manufacturing with CGC

January 22, 2025By: Steve YoungblutIn 2025, I am celebrating a milestone that feels hard to believe — 25 years working at CGC. I feel privileged to have spent that time working alongside some of the best and brightest people in our industry.Throughout these years, I’ve witnessed an incredible amount of change, not only in our business, but in the environment and circumstances we operate in. I’ve seen booms and busts, hard economic times and good times. I’ve seen innovations in our industry and from our customers.I’m a firm believer that looking to the past can help us better chart CGC’s future. With all those experiences and lessons as a backdrop, here are the 3 things that stand out to me as the defining developments in our industry over the last quarter-century.

"I have had a front-row seat to watch innovations like emissions reduction, product recycling, water conservation and ecosystem protection become a central part of what we do."

Steve Youngblut, General Manager, CGC

Sustainability

It’s safe to say that when I started my career, the building materials industry was not thinking about the full lifecycle of our products or footprint of our operations in the same way we do today. I have had a front-row seat to watch innovations like emissions reduction, product recycling, water conservation and ecosystem protection become a central part of what we do.Today, we’re creating wallboard products that use 100% recycled face and back papers, require up to 25% less water, and produce up to 20% less CO2 emissions than traditional wallboard. We have facilities powered by renewable energy sources and the latest tech to reduce all forms of waste. It is truly exciting to behold.

Consolidation

It wasn’t so long ago that there were countless “mom and pop” retail locations that sold building materials. But since 2000, we’ve seen massive consolidation in the industry, with retailers merging to reap the benefits of scale. The most successful ones are now multinationals.To a lesser degree, the same is happening in the building and construction space. While individual contractors and renovators will always need products like ours, the number of companies doing large scale construction in Canada is getting smaller, while biggest players get bigger.

Product and Process Innovations

If you had told me in 2000 what kind of innovations we would be seeing today, not only from us but from our customers, I may not have believed it.Drywall products today are about 30% lighter than they used to be. They’re faster and easier to install. They’re more soundproof and resistant to moisture, fire and other hazards. Most people don’t fully grasp the amount of R&D that goes into seemingly simple products like walls, floors and ceilings.Our manufacturing process also looks completely different, with automations that make factory floors safer and more efficient than ever.So, how has CGC risen to the challenge of adapting to so much change in the past quarter-century?

The First Way is Through Investment

The biggest turning point for CGC since I joined the business has undoubtedly been our acquisition by Knauf in 2019. It has allowed us to invest about 5-10x more into the business than we did before. It has led to important milestones we have been pursuing for many years — he re-opening of our Little Narrows mine and starting construction on our newest plant in Alberta — milestonesInvesting in innovation has allowed CGC to be a first mover for so many crucial new developments in building materials. For example, our launch of ultra-light products back in 2012 was a key milestone of my tenure here. Lastly, sustainability and safety are two core pillars for CGC and for the entire family of companies within USG and Knauf. We invest in them significantly, not only because our customers expect it or we gain a competitive edge, but because taking care of our people and the planet is the right thing to do.

The Second Key Ingredient is Relationships

We are in the business of relationships. That has been true since I started and will be true for the coming decades. CGC has had the privilege of building relationships with fantastic customers that span across decades. Regardless of what happens in the industry, if we nurture relationships with great employees, industry partners, customers and the communities we operate in, we can weather any storm.As much as I’ve talked about change, I also have found it remarkable how much the fundamentals have not changed during my tenure at CGC.Our seven core values — Safety, Quality, Service, Efficiency, Innovation, Integrity, and Diversity — are as relevant today as they were when I joined. Our strategy may change as time passes and trends evolve, but as long as it is built on those seven fundamental values, we will continue to grow.No matter what gloomy predictions we see about the future, I’m confident that CGC’s future is very bright.
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