Worldwide Manufacturer Opens $30 Million Fire Testing Center In Northborough

NORTHBOROUGH, MA — A worldwide manufacturer has opened a new laboratory in Northborough designed to test how building materials and construction systems perform during fires.

The 15,000-square-foot facility is the Saint-Gobain Group’s first fire testing center in North America. Located at the company’s Innovation Hub North America campus, the nearly $30 million project brings testing and certification work in-house, allowing Saint-Gobain to develop and customize fire-resistant construction products more quickly.

The Innovation Hub campus covers 26 acres across Northborough and Marlborough. Saint-Gobain said the full site will eventually support more than 400 local jobs following a decade-long transformation of the campus.

What The Facility Will Test

Researchers at the new center will test internal and external wall and floor systems under loaded and unloaded conditions. The laboratory will also evaluate fire-protection coatings used on structural steel in commercial buildings and infrastructure projects.

Testing can include simulations of real-life firefighting conditions, including examining how materials withstand pressure from a fire hose during a building fire.

The laboratory has digitally controlled furnaces and an emissions-control system designed to remove volatile organic compounds and other combustion byproducts. Saint-Gobain said the system eliminates smoke and odors generated during testing.

The center was designed to meet ANSI/UL and CAN/ULC standards used to measure the fire resistance of construction materials. Saint-Gobain’s goal is to earn the ability to provide product certification credentials through the facility.

“This new, state-of-the-art fire lab will enable us to meet the demand to bring safer, more innovative solutions to the market faster than ever before,” Todd DiNoia, Saint-Gobain’s vice president of innovation, research and development, said in the company’s announcement.

DiNoia said the center’s emissions-control technology also supports Saint-Gobain’s environmental, health and safety goals.

The fire center joins the Northborough campus’s existing large-scale acoustic testing operation and other research capabilities. Together, the facilities will allow Saint-Gobain to offer customizable, on-demand testing for commercial construction projects ranging from small components to large-scale systems.

The investment is also part of Saint-Gobain’s “Lead and Grow” business strategy, which includes expanding the company’s commercial construction products and testing services.

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