Economic, Projects

$210 million wallboard manufacturing plant breaks ground in rural Alberta

Warren Frey May 29, 2024

CGC Inc., a subsidiary of USG Corporation, broke ground recently on a new wallboard manufacturing plant in Wheatland County, Alta.

The new sustainable facility will produce Sheetrock™ wallboards and will be able to supply western Canadian clients more efficiently, USG Corporation CEO Christopher Griffin said.

“We’ve been operating in Canada since 1907 and for decades western Canadian residents wanted product closer to market, as we generally ship from Eastern Canada or the United States,” Griffin said.

Currently the product is shipped to Western Canada from CGC manufacturing facilities in Ontario and Quebec.

CGC INC. — USG Corporation CEO Chris Griffin announces the start of construction of subsidiary company CGC Inc.’s new Wheatland County, Alta. manufacturing facility.

CGC announced its $210 million investment to build the facility in 2022, with support from the Alberta Government, Invest Alberta, Wheatland County and Siksika First Nation. All permits and approvals are secured and the construction process is underway at a 214-acre site near Carseland, Alta.

“We started looking for a physical site and found good partners in Alberta invests and Wheatland reeve Amber Link,” he said. “We also have a very positive relationship with Siksika First Nation Chief Crowfoot and we’re looking to increase that partnership as we begin staffing up for the plant.”

Griffin stressed his company’s commitment to sustainability in regards to the plant across many vectors.

“We think about sustainability from a logistics standpoint (in that) the facility no longer supplying from a great distance. It will also be zero-waste, with all production waste going back into production,” he said.

He added the facility will use new technology such as high-efficiency kilns to create the product, along with a solar field to power the facility.

CGC INC. — Stakeholders break ground on the new CGC Inc. wallboard manufacturing plant in Wheatland County, Alta. Left to right: Rick Christiaanse, CEO, Invest Alberta; Chris Griffin, CEO, USG; Steve Youngblut, general manager, CGC; and Amber Link, Reeve, Wheatland County.

Griffin added the product will be brought to market at present via rail, but in the long-term will likely be delivered via a revamped fleet of electric vehicles.

The contract for the construction of the plant was awarded to Ledcor earlier in the year and CGC targets completion of the construction phase in 2026 and with plant recruitment and hiring planned to start in mid-2025.

CGC Inc. markets, manufactures and distributes gypsum wallboard products, interior finishing materials and suspended acoustical ceilings in Canada.