About Saint-Gobain Abrasive Grains

A Long History of Market Leadership 

Saint-Gobain Abrasive Grains’ engineering leadership can be traced back to 1905, when Norton Company first created brown fused aluminum oxide. For over a century, our drive for innovation has persisted as we continue to develop abrasive grains with ever-increasing value. As the market leader in premium abrasive grains for Bonded and Coated abrasives, Saint-Gobain produces Seeded Gel ceramic grain, Alumina Zirconia grains, and value-added Aluminum Oxide grains.  Saint-Gobain also serves blast finishing, lapping and polishing, and other industrial applications with value-added fused and sintered abrasive grains.

Worldwide Support

Our manufacturing facilities span the globe; optimizing logistics and assuring a stable supply of grains for our customers. Not only do we have multiple sites in Europe, North America, and Asia, but we also have sales teams in every global region ready to serve our customers’ needs. To further enhance our support, we have warehouses in Germany and Japan to ensure all of our grains can be quickly accessed regardless of their manufacturing origin. 

Innovation

Equipped with the latest technology and talented engineers, Saint-Gobain Abrasive Grains is supported by four R&D facilities located in France, USA, and China.  Leading the way in defining new product categories since the invention of engineered abrasives, Saint-Gobain continues to expand the performance of abrasive grains in terms of productivity, durability, and value.  Our Cerpass Seeded Gel ceramic grains were the first of their type to feature specifically engineered shapes to match a variety of applications and materials.  Saint-Gobain Norzon NV Alumina Zirconia has increased productivity to an entirely new level for this class of grain.  Keeping our innovative drive alive, our R&D teams continue to develop the next generations of abrasive grains.

Saint-Gobain designs, manufactures and distributes materials and solutions that are key ingredients in the well-being of each of us and the future of all. They can be found everywhere in our living places and our daily life: in buildings, transportation, and in many industrial applications. They provide comfort, performance and safety while addressing the challenges of sustainable construction, resource efficiency and climate change. Saint-Gobain operates in 66 countries with more than 170,000 employees. 

Abrasive Grains is a member of Saint-Gobain’s Specialty Grains and Powders department, an innovative suite of synergistic businesses that also includes Boron Nitride, Coating Solutions, Surface Conditioning and ZirPro. Our ongoing commitment to investing in R&D is evidenced by our thriving research centers in France, China and the United States. Each site offering customers worldwide technical support as well as a local presence that drives co-development of solutions to meet unique requirements. 

The Specialty Grains and Powders Department can trace its roots back to the 1900s when it was manufacturing aluminum oxide and silicon carbide under the Norton brand name. Since then, it has pushed the envelope for abrasive grains by patenting such developments as monocrystalline alumina (1946), alumina zirconia 25% (1965), alumina zirconia 40% (1973) and seeded gel alumina (1986).