Newsweek names Holcim Building Envelope a ‘Greatest Workplace'

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Holcim Building Envelope, essentially the former Firestone Building Products L.L.C., has been named one of "America's Greatest Workplaces for Diversity 2023" by Newsweek.

The magazine recognized the division of Holcim Solutions and Products for its "female leadership to cultivating an inclusive workplace."

"Our commitment to diversity has yielded more innovation and collaboration at every level of the organization," said Jamie Gentoso, president of Holcim Building Envelope and global head of Holcim Solutions and Products. "Our differences make us stronger, and knowing our teammates are our most fundamental and important asset, I've worked hard to instill inclusivity in our hiring, training and promotion processes—especially as a female in an industry predominantly led by men."

The honor, decided upon by Newsweek and Plant-A Insights Group across 350,000 anonymous reviews from companies with more than 1,000 employees, is the culmination of a busy year for Holcim Products and Solutions, and its Swiss multinational parent, Holcim Group.

"The construction industry is used to operating a certain way," Gentoso said. "Our diversity initiatives not only provide chances for talented individuals with backgrounds that don't fit the industry's antiquated mold, but these teammates prove every day that diverse perspectives and innovation go hand in hand."

The full list of winners includes several other rubber industry companies, including Cabot, Dow, Eaton and Michelin—which all earned the highest rating of five stars. Others to make the list included BASF, Dana, Denso, Gates, H.B. Fuller, Medline and Texas Instruments.

The Holcim Group is growing rapidly, due in part to the rising demand for green roofing and sustainable construction products within its Solutions and Products unit.

The newest segment of the $26.7 billion Holcim Group—which includes Holcim Building Envelope, is on pace to comprise about 30 percent of group sales by 2025.

Holcim Solutions and Products is eying about $3.52 billion in sales in 2022 and $4 billion in roofing product sales by 2025.

Holcim Group, with 70,000 people worldwide and four major business segments, is bullish on the roofing and construction space moving forward.

On the heels of the $3.4 billion acquisition of Firestone Building Products Co. from Bridgestone Americas in April (a company that held a 4-percent share of the global roofing market and was the fourth-largest player in the arena at the time of the sale), Holcim on Oct. 4 purchased Texas-based Polymers Sealants North America, a former division of Illinois Tool Works.

PSNA has five facilities in Texas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Arizona and California, with its headquarters in Irving, Texas. The combined square footage is more than 275,000 square feet.

PSNA's primary capabilities are development and formulation, extrusion, mixing, filling and reaction chemistry within the waterproofing and sealant spaces.

PSNA expects to see net sales of about $100 million in 2022, according to Holcim.

Holcim Building Envelope already boasts the Elevate brand (RubberGard EPDM and UltraPly TPO), the former Firestone Building Products, which includes roofing, wall and lining systems; the Gaco brand, which includes silicones, foams, urethanes and acrylic roofing solutions; the GenFlex brand, which includes components necessary to support sustainable roofing solutions; the Malarkey brand, which includes sustainable, high-performance roofing shingles for commercial and residential applications; and now PSNA.

Gentoso said Holcim Group—with its other major segments in cement, ready-mix concrete and aggregates—is well-positioned going forward.

She told Rubber News earlier this year that there are no further acquisitions "to share at the moment," but that Holcim is "hyper-focused on bringing more solutions into our portfolio through both organic innovation and through mergers and acquisitions."

The purchase of PSNA follows Holcim's other recent acquisitions in roofing and insulation, from Firestone Building Products, to Malarkey Roofing Products, to SES.

Holcim completed the acquisition of Malarkey Roofing Products March 1. The addition of Malarkey includes its 500 employees and two U.S.-based plants and Portland, Ore., headquarters.

The company also finalized the acquisition of United Kingdom-based Wiltshire Heavy Building Materials Oct. 6, a company that saw about $20 million in sales in 2021 and employs 80 people today.

Wiltshire has sites in Devizes, Theale, Faringdon and Fairford, expanding Holcim's Aggregate Industries footprint between London and Southwest England. Wiltshire adds to Holcim's expertise in circular construction while strengthening its position in innovative and sustainable building solutions in the U.K.