Saint-Gobain will present its new five-year strategic plan on October 6

As part of this plan, the French group, which is celebrating its 360th anniversary this year, intends to "deepen" its strategy as a "leader in sustainable construction" and "expand" its organization by country, following the vast upheaval and internationalization that has taken place in recent years, indicated CEO Benoit Bazin, who has been reappointed as Chairman and CEO.

"Over the past four years, approximately 70% of the group's investments have been made in North America, Asia and emerging countries," with "around twenty new factories or production lines launched per year," which has allowed for a balance of operating results between Western Europe (one third), North America (one third) and Asia and emerging countries (one third), Mr. Bazin indicated.

"The group has been around for 360 years, and we have values ​​based on diversity and the richness of our teams. This is what makes us strong. And we will continue to move in this direction, probably with increased regionalization across a larger and broader scope of Saint-Gobain's offering," he added.

"Our decentralized country-by-country organization, established in 2019 and deployed with our strategic plans 'Transform & Grow' and then 'Grow & Impact', has been the key to our success. We are now taking a new step forward by deepening our local organizational model," Mr. Bazin explained to shareholders.

The country general managers will now be responsible for all of the group's product lines, including construction chemicals, an organization aimed "at accelerating sales growth in each market segment and taking note of an increasingly fragmented geopolitical environment," the executive added.