• Date established: X
• Turnover: 42bn Euros
• Number of employees: 207,000
• Approvals and accreditations: X

Saint-Gobain: Facts through figures (2006)

1. A manufacturing or retail presence in 54 countries
2. European and worldwide leader in all business sectors
3. Euro 42 bn in Sales
4. Euro 1.6 bn in Net Income
5. Euro 3.3 bn in Self Financing
6. Euro 2.2 bn in Industrial Investments
7. Saint-Gobain devotes euro 366 million to Research and Development and fills with 260 new patents every year.

Saint-Gobain is world leader in the Abrasives market with a strong presence in the USA and operations throughout Europe, Asia and Latin America. Abrasives are vital to production and processing industries where they are used for cutting, grinding and polishing. As technology leader, Saint-Gobain Abrasives is helping move the rail industry into the future by developing a range of high performance abrasive products for rail repair and maintenance.

Supplying many original equipment manufacturers (OEM), rail companies and specialist rail distributors, Saint-Gobain Abrasives sits at the very forefront of industry innovation by delivering technological excellence both in terms of performance and safety.

It is the sole international producer to manufacture three major types of abrasives:

1. Coated abrasives
2. Bonded abrasives
3. Super abrasives

Coated abrasives consist of grains of aluminium oxide, zirconium oxide, ceramic or silicon carbide bonded to paper, fabric (cotton or polyester) or fibre backing. They come in belts, discs, rolls and sheets. There are more than 30,000 kinds of coated abrasives.

Bonded abrasives (grinding, machining and polishing wheels), too, are made up of grains of aluminium oxide, zirconium oxide, ceramic or silicon carbide; however, rather than being deposited on a medium, they are laminated with a vitrified or phenolic resin bonding material. They are always in the form of grinding wheels (of which 250,000 types or sizes exist).

Finally, super abrasives involve very high-quality grains of diamond or CBN (cubic boron nitride), which are laminated with a vitrified, metal, phenolic resin bonding agent and applied to a metallic structure.

Abrasives are also widely used in everyday life for sand paper, polishing disks, and grinding wheels. The Group's position as world leader in abrasives since its acquisition of Norton in 1990, has been further strengthened by acquisitions of substantial firms such as Winter, Unicorn and, in 1998, Flexovit International.

Its strong points are exceptional technology, a well-known product range, a reputation for quality and innovation and a highly efficient distribution network.

Saint-Gobain Abrasives
Doxey Rd, Stafford, ST16 1EA
Tel: 0845 602 622
Web: www.saint-gobain.com