CertainTeed McAdam to keep distribution centre open permanently

MCADAM – Just before Christmas the Village of McAdam Facebook page posted: “It is now official that CertainTeed Gypsum will permanently keep its distribution center [sic] open here in McAdam.” The facility on Quality Way escaped its scheduled closure, which was good news for the village.

CertainTeed Canada Inc. is the Canadian building products subsidiary of the French company Saint-Gobain, whose website calls it “one of the world’s largest building materials companies”.

The McAdam plant had been producing gypsum wallboard with a staff of 59 when it was announced in the July 22, 2020 issue of The Saint Croix Courier that production would cease in August 2020. After the summer, the facility was to remain open with only a skeleton staff until the end of February 2021, when it was supposed to shut its doors. That summer, an email from a spokesperson for the parent company said that its decision was made after “extensive review.” The note concluded that the company had a “continued commitment to the Atlantic region.”

At the time, Mayor Ken Stannix called the decision “pretty rugged news…”. Today, Stannix is able to speak with some positivity of the period after the first announcement was made that resulted in the village striking an adjustment committee. It worked with consultants and several government representatives to help the newly unemployed. “It was interesting,” Stannix says, “we had a fellow coming in from Ontario who said it was the first time that he had seen a mill closure when the municipal and provincial governments worked so closely with employees. He was impressed.”

Fortunately, the worst fears of complete closure were never realized. Instead, the facility underwent a change of purpose. David Rosen, Saint-Gobain North America’s director of external communications, said in an email statement to The Saint Croix Courier that because of an evaluation of the “evolving needs of our customers, changing market conditions, and the consideration of other options, we have made the decision to maintain a distribution facility in McAdam at the site of our former manufacturing plant”.

Rosen’s statement goes on to explain that today the McAdam facility “is used to receive and ship deliveries of CertainTeed gypsum wallboard by rail and truck throughout the east coast of Canada”.

“As a result of this decision, we will be able to retain 12 of our colleagues in McAdam,” it states.

Stannix said he believes CertainTeed has chosen to maintain a presence in the village in part because of the excellent employees that work there. Stannix mentioned the positive feedback he has heard about the distribution centre.

“There have been a lot of comments from shippers shipping into McAdam,” said Stannix. “The people working here are very professional, the cables that wrap the loads are secure. Companies dealing with them feel that the workers are doing a good job.”

The Saint-Gobain statement referred to the “strategic location” of CertainTeed. Stannix supposes McAdam’s excellent situation on a direct Canadian Pacific Railway line running from the port of Saint John to Montreal may be part of the attraction. While the mayor is pleased one of McAdam’s larger employees has decided not to pull up stakes, the adjustment committee is still working to interest new industry to the region.

liangoodall@advocateprinting.com

lian goodall