Saint-Gobain, through its subsidiary, CertainTeed Gypsum, announced an agreement to purchase Structus Building Technologies, Inc. (SBTI) of Bend, Oregon, a manufacturer of innovative, high-performance drywall corner solutions.  

Founded in 1996, Structus designs and manufactures a preferred line of products that enhances and supports finishing in the drywall industry. The company’s leading products include No-Coat® structural laminate drywall corners, AquaBead and Hydrotrim® water-activated corners, Optimus Drywall Corner Reinforcement, EasyFlex™ Flexible Corner Bead, AutoPRO drywall finishing machines, Ultraflex™, Ultratrim™, Ultra Arch™, and Ultratool™ drywall finishing tools and accessories, and Levelline® drywall corner trim. Structus is a private label supplier of AquaBead, Optimus and EasyFlex to CertainTeed Gypsum in North America and in Europe to CertainTeed’s parent company, Saint-Gobain.

“Structus gives our business three vital elements—a dedicated employee base committed to driving innovation every day, a tremendous product portfolio, and above all else, an entrepreneurial and customer-focused spirit,” says Dave Engelhardt, president of CertainTeed Gypsum. “Driven by founder Tim Smythe and CEO Bill Scannell, Structus has ushered in a new technological era, revolutionizing the way the building industry designs and constructs wall systems. And, as a private label partner for the last six years, this purchase is a natural fit for our company and our future.” 

“When I considered selling the business a number of months ago, I wanted to find a buyer who shared my vision for making products better and making the job of the drywall installer easier,” said Smythe. “I found it in a partner I can trust—CertainTeed Gypsum—a partner committed not only to products, but to our people, our culture and our vision for the future. In addition, I’m extremely grateful to Zachary Scott & Co, a trusted financial advisor to our shareholders for nearly a decade who has been a key partner in this sale transaction.”

Structus includes a single manufacturing location in Bend, Oregon with 60 employees. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“Innovation is a key driver throughout CertainTeed’s wallboard business as demonstrated through products like AirRenew®, which actively cleans indoor air spaces,” adds Engelhardt. “Structus helps further position CertainTeed Gypsum as the leader in finishing solutions as well, with a suite of innovative, high performance products that are easy to install, improve room aesthetics and eliminate impact damage and edge-cracking callbacks.” 

This acquisition opens additional opportunities for Structus products to be sold through CertainTeed Gypsum’s sister businesses globally. CertainTeed Gypsum’s parent Saint-Gobain is the leading drywall manufacturer in the world.

About CertainTeed

Through the responsible development of innovative and sustainable building products, CertainTeed, headquartered in Valley Forge, Pa., has helped shape the building products industry for more than 110 years. Founded in 1904 as General Roofing Manufacturing Company, the firm's slogan "Quality Made Certain, Satisfaction Guaranteed," quickly inspired the name CertainTeed. Today, CertainTeed® is North America’s leading brand of exterior and interior building products, including roofing, siding, fence, decking, railing, trim, insulation, gypsum and ceilings.

A subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, one of the world’s largest and oldest building products companies, and celebrating its 350th anniversary, CertainTeed and its affiliates have more than 5,700 employees and more than 60 manufacturing facilities throughout the United States and Canada. For seven consecutive years, the company has received top honors from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its contributions in protecting the environment and was most recently the recipient of the 2015 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award. The group had total sales of approximately $3.3 billion in 2014. www.certainteed.com