NORTHBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 30, 2026--
Today, Saint-Gobain North America announced the opening of a state-of-the-art fire testing lab on its newly branded Innovation Hub North America (formerly known as Saint-Gobain Research North America) which spans 26 acres across Northborough and Marlborough, Mass.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260730927373/en/
The fire lab, which features one of the most advanced emissions control systems available, will be used to safely and sustainably test Saint-Gobain’s construction materials for compliance with fire certification standards. Bringing this capability in-house enables Saint-Gobain to be more nimble in its R&D and innovation, offer customers solutions more quickly, and provide additional opportunities for collaboration and customization.
“Resiliency, passive fire protection, and occupant safety in building materials are more important in construction than ever, and we are committed to having the resources and capabilities in place to help customers meet those demands,” said Todd DiNoia, Vice President, Innovations and R&D, Saint-Gobain. “This new, state-of-the-art fire lab will enable us to meet the demand to bring safer, more innovative products to the market faster than ever before, while utilizing advanced emission control systems to align with Saint-Gobain’s path to carbon neutrality. As we open this new facility here at Saint-Gobain's Innovation Hub in North America, it is yet another tool, along with the cutting-edge research taking place here every day, that allows us to offer solutions to our customers for every type of light and sustainable construction project.”
This is the latest major investment on the campus, which is in the midst of a decade-long transformation and modernization into a best-in-class innovation hub, supporting Saint-Gobain's business operations in North America. This 15,000 square foot project, which broke ground in October 2024, represents a nearly $30 million investment in the region. Construction of the fire lab involved more than forty local trade partners and subcontractors. The facility joins a campus where more than 400 permanent employees will work every day.
This facility was designed to meet the industry leading ANSI/UL and CAN/ULC standards for measuring the fire resistance of construction materials, with the goal of earning the ability to offer essential product certification credentials. The testing that occurs at fire labs plays a crucial role in the manufacturing process, ensuring that products are safe and effective at meeting fire safety standards.
This facility was designed to assess fire resistance on internal and external wall and floor systems and products, in both loaded and unloaded conditions, as well as structural steel fire protection coating materials. In addition to testing resistance to high temperatures, the lab also conducts hose stream testing to simulate how materials withstand the pressure of a fire hose in a “real-life” scenario.
The fire lab features two cutting-edge furnaces, equipped with fully electronic controls for maximum temperature precision and industry-leading emissions control systems, drastically reducing the carbon emissions released by a traditional furnace. The state-of-the-art emissions system far exceeds regulatory requirements and ensures the lab is aligned with Saint-Gobain’s commitment to be carbon neutral by 2050. Being a good neighbor is a priority for the new facility and these investments in environmental controls also eliminate any odors or impacts on the surrounding community.
The introduction of in-house fire lab testing further differentiates Saint-Gobain’s commercial construction offerings, advancing a key component of the company’s “Lead and Grow” strategy, announced last October. When combined with the existing large-scale acoustic and weather testing capabilities available at Northborough, Saint-Gobain will be able to offer large-scale, on-demand customizable testing to meet a wide range of commercial construction needs.
About Saint-Gobain
Worldwide leader in light and sustainable construction, Saint-Gobain designs, manufactures and distributes materials and services adapted to the residential, non-residential and infrastructure markets. Its integrated and innovative solutions provide sustainability, performance and well-being for its customers. The Group is guided by its purpose, “MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER HOME”.
€46.5 billion in sales in 2025
162,000 employees, locations in 81 countries
Committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050
Saint-Gobain Expands Northborough Innovation Hub with Opening of the Company’s First North America Fire Testing Lab
Saint-Gobain Expands Northborough Innovation Hub with Opening of the Company’s First North America Fire Testing Lab
A man who gave his son the gun he used to kill two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School in Georgia was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison.
Colin Gray’s sentencing comes days after his son, Colt Gray, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in the Sept. 4, 2024, shooting at the school 45 miles (70 kilometers) northeast of Atlanta. Colt Gray had pleaded guilty to murder and other charges.
A jury in March, found Colin Gray guilty of second-degree murder in the deaths of two 14-year-old students, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo. Georgia law defines second-degree murder as causing the death of a child by committing the crime of cruelty to children. Gray was also found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the killings of teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53.
Another teacher and eight other students were wounded, seven of them hit by gunfire. Colin Gray was also convicted of multiple counts of reckless conduct and cruelty to children.
He is among a handful of American parents who have been criminally charged after their children were accused in shootings.
Prosecutors said Colin Gray gave his son the rifle as a Christmas gift along with ammunition, a gun sight and other shooting accessories.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
A prosecutor asked a judge for what would effectively be a life sentence for a man who gave his son the gun used to kill two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School in Georgia after he was convicted of second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter.
Colin Gray's sentencing hearing comes just days after his 16-year-old son, Colt Gray, was sentenced to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole. Colt Gray had pleaded guilty to murder and other charges in the Sept. 4, 2024, shooting at the school about 45 miles (70 kilometers) northeast of Atlanta.
A defense attorney for Colin Gray asked the judge for a sentence that would amount to 10 years in prison followed by 10 years on probation. The district attorney said Gray deserves a sentence of 80 years in prison. Judge Nicholas Primm, who sentenced Colt Gray earlier this week, is expected to announce Colin Gray's sentence Thursday afternoon.
The elder Gray is one of a handful of American parents who have been criminally charged after their children were accused in shootings.
A jury in March found Colin Gray guilty of second-degree murder in the deaths of two 14-year-old students, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo. Georgia law defines second-degree murder as causing the death of a child by committing the crime of cruelty to children. Gray was also found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the killings of teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53.
Another teacher and eight other students were wounded, seven of them hit by gunfire.
Family members of those who died and victims of the shooting condemned what they said were Gray's failures as a parent and urged the judge to give him the maximum sentence possible.
“This wasn’t unavoidable. This was preventable. Because of the choices made inside the Gray household, four families were handed life sentences of grief,” said Breanna Schermerhorn, whose son was killed.
“He did not pull the trigger but purchased and left a firearm accessible to a minor," said Shayna Aspinwall, whose husband was killed. She said the sentence must take into account "the families left behind who must carry the grief and trauma for the rest of our lives.”
Prosecutors say Colin Gray gave his son the rifle as a Christmas gift along with ammunition, a gun sight and other shooting accessories.
Barrow County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Jason Smith testified that Colt Gray carried the semiautomatic rifle onto the school bus with the barrel sticking out and wrapped in poster board. The teenager left his second-period class and went to a bathroom, emerged with the rifle and shot people in the hallway and a classroom, the investigator said.
Colt Gray, who was 14 at the time of the shooting, had shown signs of deteriorating mental health in the weeks leading up to the killings, according to testimony during his sentencing hearing. He belonged to a “true crime community” online where he and other young people discussed their obsession with mass shooters, an investigator testified.
The teen's mother, Marcee Gray, who was separated from Colin Gray, told investigators that she had argued with her estranged husband weeks before the shooting, asking him to secure his guns and restrict their son's access.
Colin Gray's attorney argued that Colt Gray “actively hid the depth of his involvement” in an online community obsessed with mass shooters. The red flags enumerated by prosecutors were spaced out and “surrounded by stretches of a child who laughed, who was bright, who loved his computer, video games, who played guitar, who went into the woods with his father,” attorney Brian Hobbs said.
A decades-long sentence would effectively be “death in prison” for his 55-year-old client, he said. By giving Gray essentially the same sentence as his son, the actual killer, the judge would be erasing the line in Georgia law “between the harm a person intends to do and the harm a person fails to prevent,” Hobbs argued.
Barrow County District Attorney Brad Smith countered that Colin Gray “was convicted for what he did know." Gray ignored “a substantial and unjustifiable risk," Smith said, displaying photos and news articles about the 2018 massacre at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that hung on Colt Gray's bedroom wall.
“This was the risk that he was ignoring, that there would be a mass shooting of children at a school, and he gave his son the exact tool he would need to accomplish this," Smith said. "He is the reason four people are dead, seven were injured and countless others were traumatized, and he is the reason a 16-year-old boy was sentenced two days ago to the rest of his life in prison.”
Prosecutors have in recent years held parents responsible when they believe they can prove a parent contributed to a killing.
Jennifer and James Crumbley were the first U.S. parents to face such charges after their son, Ethan, killed four students and wounded others at Michigan’s Oxford High School in 2021. Like Colin Gray, they were unaware of their son’s plans but had gifted him a gun before the shooting. They are serving 10-year prison terms for involuntary manslaughter. Hobbs, the defense attorney, urged the judge to use that sentence as a guide.
This story has been corrected to show the school is called Apalachee High School, not Appalachee.
Colt Gray, the 16-year-old Apalachee High School shooting suspect, is led in by deputies for his sentencing at Barrow County Superior Court, Monday, July 27, 2026, in Winder, Ga. (Jason Getz/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, Pool)
Colt Gray, the 16-year-old convicted in the Apalachee High School shooting, stands to be handcuffed following his sentencing at Barrow County Superior Court in Winder, Ga., on Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (Arvin Temkar/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
FILE - Colin Gray, the father of Apalachee High School shooting suspect Colt Gray, arrives to the courtroom at the Barrow County courthouse, Dec. 18, 2025, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)
