Valley Forge, Pa. -- To meet an increased demand for asphalt roofing shingles in the West South Central Region of the United States, CertainTeed Corp. announced it will re-build and upgrade its Ennis, Texas, roofing manufacturing facility in 2011, bringing back 50 jobs to the local community.

“While the overall housing market is gradually recovering, the demand for CertainTeed roofing shingles continues to grow in this part of the country,” says Guillaume Texier, president of CertainTeed Roofing. “We feel that we can better serve the growing needs of this market from the Ennis facility, allowing us to provide our customers in this area with high quality products, excellent customer service and availability. We are equally as thrilled that we can bring jobs back to the local economy.”

Sluggish housing starts and declining roof replacements drove the decision to de-commission the plant in February 2007. Since that time CertainTeed has served the region through its Shreveport, La., plant. With sales improving, CertainTeed has deployed a team to the facility to begin the process of rebuilding and upgrading the production lines with new state-of-the art equipment and technology. To support the jobs created by this project, the City of Ennis and State of Texas are providing approximately $600,000 in economic development incentives.

The facility, which will produce Landmark roofing shingles, is expected to be fully operational in early 2011. The company has not yet begun the hiring process, but will be making an announcement within six months about employment opportunities.