Saint-Gobain S.A. is a French multinational corporation, founded in 1665 in Paris and headquartered on the outskirts of Paris, at La Défense and in Courbevoie. Originally a mirror manufacturer, it now also produces a variety of construction and high-performance materials.The company has its head office in Les Miroirs in La Défense and in Courbevoie. The 97-metre (318 ft) building served as the company head office since 1981.
HistoryThe company was founded in October 1665 as Manufacture royale de glaces de miroirs under the direction of French minister of finance Jean-Baptiste Colbert. The company, which had the informal name Compagnie du Noyer from the beneficiary of the monopoly granted to it, the financier Nicolas du Noyer, a receveur of taxes of Orléans, was created for a period of twenty years and would be financed in part by the State.
Since the middle of the 17th century, luxury products such as silk textiles, lace and mirrors were in high demand. In the 1660s, mirrors had become very popular among the upper classes of society: Italian cabinets, ballrooms, châteaux and ornate side tables and pier-tables were decorated with this expensive and luxurious product. At the time, however, the French were not known for mirror technology; instead Venice was known as the world leader in glass manufacturing, controlling a technical and commercial monopoly of the glass and mirror business. Colbert saw Manufacture royale de glaces de miroirs as a way for France to become completely self-sufficient in meeting domestic demand for luxury products.To compete with the Italian mirror industry, Colbert commissioned several expatriate Venetians. Soon the mirrors created in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, under the French company, began to rival those of Venice. The French company was capable of producing mirrors that were 40 to 45 inches long (1.0 to 1.1 m), which at the time was considered impressive. Competition between France and the Venetians became so fierce that Venice considered it a crime for any glass artisan to leave and practice their trade elsewhere, especially in foreign territory.In 1683 the company's financial arrangement with the State was renewed for another two decades. However, in 1688, the rival Compagnie Thévart was created, also financed in part by the state. Compagnie Thévart used a new pouring process that allowed it to make plate glass mirrors measuring at least 60 by 40 inches wide (1.5 by 1.0 m), much bigger than the 40 inches which the Compagnie du Noyer could create.For seven years, the two companies were in competition until, in 1695, the economy slowed down, and their technical and commercial rivalry became counterproductive. Under an order from the French government, the two companies were forced to merge together, creating theCompagnie Plastier.In 1702 Compagnie Plastier declared bankruptcy. A group of Franco-Swiss Protestant bankers rescued the collapsing company, changing the name to Compagnie Dagincourt. At the same time, the company was provided royal patents which allowed it to maintain a legal monopoly in the glass-manufacturing industry up until the French Revolution (1789).
Net income $ 1,129 billion (2011)