Building tomorrow: Saint-Gobain’s blueprint for next-generation construction
As Saint-Gobain Ireland marks 90 years of manufacturing heritage, Managing Director Kieran Holohan speaks to ROBBIE COUSINS about domestic supply security, collaboration, sustainability and innovation, and how the company is reshaping the future of how it does business in Ireland.
In 2026, Saint-Gobain Ireland marks a historic milestone: 90 years of continuous manufacturing, mining, and innovation on the island of Ireland. From its origins in 1936 as a Gypsum mine and facility producing plaster and plasterboard in Kingscourt, Co Cavan, the enterprise has grown into a multi-brand building materials powerhouse. Today, as part of the global Saint-Gobain group, its portfolio includes market-leading brands such as Gyproc, Isover, Saint-Gobain Glass, Vetrotech, Weber, K Rend and K Systems. The next phase for Saint-Gobain Ireland is about bringing those capabilities together more deliberately, moving beyond individual products and brands to provide customers with integrated Saint-Gobain solutions that respond to the performance needs of the complete building.
To celebrate nine decades of operation and map out the next chapter of growth, Saint-Gobain Ireland hosted its ‘Future Foundations’ initiative throughout September. Opening the doors of its manufacturing facilities in Kingscourt, the company welcomed hundreds of key stakeholders – ranging from architects and specifiers to main contractors, subcontractors and builders’ merchants, as well as journalists- for a series of curated plant tours and collaborative feedback sessions.
Following these sessions, Kieran Holohan, Managing Director of Saint- Gobain Ireland, sat down to discuss the company’s history, its integrated supply chain model, changing building regulations, and its strategy for driving sustainable construction in Ireland.
ORIGINS
Kieran Holohan briefly explains the company’s history: “In 1936, the Gypsum & Bricks company started the production of plaster and plasterboard in Kingscourt. And, 90 years later, that very same natural resource remains the foundation stone of our operations in Ireland.”
Over the decades, the business evolved through major corporate chapters, joining the BPB (British Plaster Board) Group before being acquired by Saint-Gobain in 2005. “When Saint-Gobain acquired BPB around 2005, it brought together a deep-rooted Irish manufacturing heritage with the technical scale and global innovation of Saint-Gobain,” Holohan notes. “Gyproc and Isover became the anchor of Saint-Gobain’s presence on the island. Everything we have built since – expanding into insulation, external wall renders, acoustic ceiling systems and construction chemicals – rests on that 90-year manufacturing and mining legacy.”
AN INTEGRATED FOOTPRINT ACROSS THE ISLAND OF IRELAND
Today, Saint-Gobain employs over 500 people across the island of Ireland, spanning various operations and technical specialities.
“Across the island as a whole, we employ over 500 people,” Holohan explains. “That includes roughly 250 people in our Gyproc plaster and plasterboard operations, over 161 within the K Rend & K Systems business, and 96 people in our Dublin-based Life Sciences operations, alongside dedicated teams across sales, commercial, and technical services.”
Unlike sales offices that import finished products from overseas, Saint-Gobain operates a complete end-to-end industrial model within Ireland.
“What makes our setup unique is the sheer diversity of skills we maintain locally,” Kieran Holohan emphasises. “We employ geologists, chemists, mining engineers, process engineers, quality management specialists, R&D professionals and field technicians, as well as commercial, finance and marketing teams. The entire lifecycle – from extracting the raw rock out of the ground to processing, formulation, manufacturing, technical testing, distribution and job-site support – is managed right here on Irish soil.”
SUPPLY CHAIN SECURITY
In the wake of global disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, geopolitical tensions and shipping bottlenecks, supply chain security has become a central priority for main contractors and housing developers.
“The pandemic and subsequent global supply chain shocks opened everyone’s eyes to the vulnerabilities of relying entirely on international supply chains,” Kieran Holohan observes. “When you are trying to meet ambitious national targets for housing, schools and healthcare facilities, project managers need certainty that materials will arrive on site on schedule.”
Because over 90% of the raw material used in Gyproc plasterboard is natural rock extracted from its domestic quarry in the Monaghan/Cavan border region, Saint- Gobain offers supply chain resilience that few can match.
“Over 90% of the raw rock for our plasterboard comes directly from our own quarry here in Ireland,” he explains. “We are not importing the base material on container ships across global trade routes. We mine the rock, process it in our plant, supply it through Irish merchant networks and support contractor installation on site. Because we act as the complete custodian of the product – from cradle right through to grave and back again – we eliminate foreign supply vulnerabilities. Our primary market is the Irish market, and our entire operational footprint is structured to guarantee domestic supply security.”
ENVIRONMENTAL PRODUCT DECLARATIONS
This local custody also allows Saint-Gobain to offer fully verified Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), traceable carbon accounting, and system performance warranties backed by Irish testing. The company currently has EPDs for 95% of its Irish product range.
‘FUTURE FOUNDATIONS’: RETHINKING THE PLANT TOUR AS COLLABORATIVE DIALOGUE
Throughout September, Saint-Gobain welcomed hundreds of industry professionals to its Kingscourt facility for its ‘Future Foundations’ initiative. Rather than offering a standard promotional factory walkthrough, the company designed the experience to gather direct feedback and foster industry collaboration.
“When you invite someone to a factory tour, the initial reaction might be, ‘I’ve seen a manufacturing line before, why do I need to visit again?’” Holohan reflects. “We wanted to completely reinvent that concept. Future Foundations was designed not as a passive tour, but as a collaborative workshop where we showcased where the industry is heading, presented our latest system developments, and actively asked our partners to challenge us.”
To keep discussions focused, tour groups were kept to approximately 20 participants per session, tailored specifically to distinct industry sectors.
“A main contractor, an architect, a fire specifier, a structural engineer and a builders’ merchant all interact with our products differently, and they each face unique operational pressure points,” adds Holohan. “For architects and specifiers, the focus was on building compliance, detailing, acoustics, circularity and EPD verification. For merchants, the conversation centred on delivery turnaround times, stock availability and supply security. For contractors, it was speed of installation, offsite compatibility and system warranties.”
By tailoring each visit, Saint-Gobain gathered direct feedback to guide its future product roadmap.
“The feedback was overwhelmingly positive because visitors felt heard,” Holohan reports. “They saw that we weren’t just lecturing them on our products; we were asking, ‘What are your daily pain points on site, and how can we co-design solutions to solve them?’ That is what genuine industry partnership looks like.”
NAVIGATING REGULATORY DEMANDS: COMPLIANCE, TESTING, AND CERTIFICATION
With building control regulations in Ireland requiring ever-higher standards of fire safety, acoustic performance, and structural integrity, product certification has become a critical focal point for designers and contractors.
“The regulatory landscape in Irish construction has transformed dramatically over the past decade,” Kieran Holohan notes. “Designers and building control officers no longer accept isolated component testing. They demand robust, fully tested system assemblies where every element – plasterboard, metal studs, insulation, fixings, and sealants – has been tested together as a complete unit.”
Saint-Gobain tests its wall, floor, and ceiling assemblies at accredited fire and acoustic testing facilities, providing full system performance guarantees.
“If a contractor swaps out one approved component in a fire-rated partition for an unverified alternative, the entire test certification becomes invalid,” Holohan cautions. “That introduces major legal and structural risk. We provide fully certified, warrantied systems. When specifiers choose a Saint-Gobain solution, they receive complete compliance documentation, transparent EPDs and direct support from our technical support team to ensure peace of mind at sign-off.”
SUSTAINABILITY AND CIRCULARITY: DECARBONISING THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
As the construction sector targets rapid carbon reductions, Saint-Gobain is aligning its operations with net-zero carbon objectives. Sustainability was a central theme throughout the September plant visits.
“Sustainability is no longer a corporate buzzword or a secondary consideration; it is an absolute requirement for doing business,” Kieran Holohan asserts. “Because we manage the process from extraction through to manufacturing, we have direct control over reducing our operational carbon footprint.”
Key sustainability initiatives across Saint- Gobain’s Irish operations include:
– Lower carbon manufacturing: Investing in energy-efficient ovens and furnaces, heat-recovery systems, and renewable electricity contracts across processing plants.
– Circular gypsum recycling: Diverting clean plasterboard offcuts from construction sites back into the manufacturing process in Kingscourt, substituting virgin raw rock with recycled gypsum.
– Third-party verified EPDs: Publishing EPDs across core product ranges, giving architects transparent data on embodied carbon for LEED, BREEAM, and Home Performance Index certifications.
– Thermal Insulation Performance: Developing high-performance Isover glass mineral wool insulation products made with high recycled glass content to lower operational heating demands in new builds and retrofits.
“Gypsum is inherently an endlessly recyclable material,” Kieran Holohan highlights. “Our goal is to expand closed-loop waste take-back schemes across major commercial construction sites in Ireland, taking clean plasterboard waste and feeding it directly back into our production line. That reduces landfill waste while conserving natural resources.”
Innovation at Saint-Gobain
The tour presented guests with many innovative new and existing add-on services that Saint-Gobain Ireland provides. Two in particular stood out.
For Saint-Gobain, innovation is not only about developing new products. It is about combining products with technical advice, tested systems, logistics, digital tools and circular services to solve a broader customer need.
For example, Saint-Gobain Ireland has rethought the way pallets are being used across the construction industry. Partnering with CJ Sheeran and The Pallet LOOP, a circular economy pallet supplier, the company is aiming to remove single-use pallet waste from the market.
As the first building materials manufacturer and distributor in Ireland to make the switch, Gyproc and Isover are now delivering plaster, plasterboard and insulation on instantly recognisable, green-coloured LOOP pallets, which will be removed from site by its partners, while at the same time paying customers for each pallet removed.
“This programme is radically reducing the avoidable waste caused by unsustainable pallet disposal, Kieran Holohan explains. The upcoming ‘Custom-Cut’ service, ideal for smaller contractors, will deliver small orders of plasterboard cut on the factory floor to exact project dimensions. By eliminating the need for long-term on-site storage and manual board cutting, this service will reduce labour requirements, keep sites neater and reduce plasterboard waste.
INVESTING IN THE NEXT GENERATION: SECURING THE FUTURE OF DOMESTIC INDUSTRY
Reaching a 90-year milestone provides an opportunity to reflect on past achievements, but Kieran Holohan stresses that Saint- Gobain’s primary focus remains firmly on future investment.
A major demonstration of this long-term strategy is the ongoing development and sod-turning of Gyproc’s new opencast quarry extension in Monaghan. The multimillion-euro project includes extensive site preparation, environmental engineering, site access improvements and modern quarrying infrastructure.
“The new quarry extension project represents a major reinvestment in local industrial infrastructure,” says Holohan. “But the quarry is not the whole story; it is where the story begins. This natural local resource has powered Irish building, skilled regional employment, and manufacturing innovation for 90 years. Securing this supply ensures we can support Irish construction for generations to come.”
Alongside industrial investment, Saint- Gobain maintains deep ties with the local community in Monaghan and Cavan, supporting sports facilities – such as the redeveloped pitches for Magheracloone Mitchells GFC – and maintaining a 10- year national charity partnership with Barnardo’s Ireland.
“Building a sustainable business means being a responsible neighbour and community partner,” Kieran Holohan notes. “Whether supporting local community infrastructure or helping Barnardo’s renovate their national hub in Dublin to support vulnerable children and families, our commitment to Ireland extends far beyond manufacturing materials.”
LOOKING AHEAD: INNOVATION AND MODERN METHODS OF CONSTRUCTION
As the Irish construction industry evolves toward modern methods of construction (MMC), offsite timberframe manufacturing, light-gauge steel frameworks, and digital BIM integration, Saint-Gobain is developing systems tailored for prefabrication.
“The way buildings are designed and assembled in Ireland is changing rapidly,” Kieran Holohan concludes. “We are seeing a clear shift toward offsite manufacturing and industrialised construction methods to address skills shortages and accelerate project delivery.”
Saint-Gobain’s R&D teams are developing high-performance drywall, acoustic and thermal systems designed specifically for factory installation.
“Ireland is also playing a growing role within Saint-Gobain’s wider European strategy. We have recently established a European data-centre solutions capability, led from Dublin, bringing together expertise from across the Group to support customers with integrated solutions across structures, façades, walls, ceilings, insulation and glazing. It is a strong example of our Lead & Grow strategy in action: combining local market knowledge with Saint-Gobain’s wider technical capability to address a rapidly developing European sector.
“Our role is to support the industry through these transitions,” he states. “By combining 90 years of local manufacturing experience with Saint-Gobain’s global technical network, we will continue to pioneer lighter, safer, more sustainable, and higher-performing building systems for the next 90 years.”
IN CONCLUSION
For 90 years, Saint-Gobain Ireland has been a bedrock of the national building sector, evolving from its Co Cavan roots into an innovation powerhouse powered by 700 skilled professionals across the island. Today, that rich legacy serves as a launching pad for the future.
Through strategic initiatives like this year’s ‘Future Foundations’ dialogue, Saint-Gobain is actively collaborating with specifiers, contractors, engineers and merchants to co-design the next era of sustainable construction. By pairing deep local heritage with forward-looking R&D and industry-wide partnerships, the company remains uniquely positioned to solve the modern sector’s toughest challenges.
“Reaching 90 years of heritage in Ireland is a major milestone, but our focus is firmly on what comes next,” reflects Kieran Holohan. “Engaging directly with our partners through Future Foundations ensures that as we build on our legacy, we are driving the innovation and practical solutions the Irish construction industry needs to thrive,” he concludes.