New Industry Thrives – Soprema, Inc.
SOPREMA, Inc., a French roofing and waterproofing materials manufacturer, held its centennial celebration at its newest plant in Gulfport, Mississippi, with over 500 guests and dignitaries from around the world in attendance.
Following a tour of the plant, the guests gathered under a large tent and local officials welcomed SOPREMA to the area, congratulating the company on its long history. Pierre-Etienne Bindschedler, the company’s chairman, and Gilbert Lorenzo, vice-president and general manager, presented speeches and toasts, preceeding an extravagantly catered European-style lunch. Two bands provided music, as the guests celebrated the company’s success and outlook for the future.
Founded in France in 1908, SOPREMA has been an innovator in the design and installation of styrene butadiene styrene (SBS) engineered asphaltic membrane for commercial, industrial and institutional buildings. Today, the company is one of the largest roofing products manufacturers in the world with a total of 14 manufacturing plants throughout Europe and the Americas.
SOPREMA broke ground at its 23-acre site in Gulfport’s Bayou Bernard Industrial Park in August 2006, just one year following Hurricane Katrina. Construction on the 56,000-square-foot facility was completed in September 2007. The Gulfport plant currently has 14 full-time employees and expects to reach up to 50 by 2010. The facility produces SOPREMA’s signature SBS Modified Bitumen product line, with a capacity of 220 million square feet, and ships products throughout the Southern U.S. regions.
Larry Barnett, executive director of the Harrison County Development Commission, says, “We are very honored that SOPREMA chose its new Gulfport facility as the location to celebrate this important event. We congratulate SOPREMA for its success and are very excited to be a part of it.” .For more information, visit http://www.soprema.us.
