What Sheetrock® UltraLight PRO Teaches Us About Product Innovation

CGC has spent more than 100 years working to make building materials safer, more sustainable, easier to install and more comfortable for the construction industry.

The recent launch of Sheetrock® UltraLight PRO is an incredibly significant milestone for our business and industry. It is a first-of-its-kind wallboard that is the lightest drywall on the market in the 1/2 inch category.

What makes wallboard innovation so important? UltraLight PRO Panels are the latest example of how this R&D investment benefits our customers and Canadians: enhanced durability and weight reduction make it easier for builders to get jobs done on time and on budget, with positive ripple effects for Canada’s housing market and the environment.

Engineered for exceptional strength, Sheetrock® UltraLight PRO Panels are designed to withstand the demands of challenging job sites while maintaining their shape and performance. With enhanced edge integrity, they resist fastener blowouts for a more secure installation, ensuring lasting durability. The panels also feature improved score-and-snap properties, allowing for cleaner, more precise cuts that streamline installation and reduce material waste.

As our President Steve Youngblut said in our press release last month:

“There was a need for lighter and more durable drywall in our sector and CGC is excited to address those needs with the launch of our 1/2 in. Sheetrock® Brand UltraLight PRO Panels. Innovating lighter, more efficient wallboard isn’t just about improving construction processes—it’s about addressing real challenges like Canada’s housing crisis. By making materials easier to transport, install and use, we’re helping builders create more affordable, accessible housing faster for Canadians.”

But beyond all of its revolutionary features, it’s also important to step back and appreciate what this product represents. 

A Legacy of Innovation 

Building codes evolve, customer demands change and our products are adapting with them. They’re more resistant to moisture, fire and sound penetration than ever before.

Each development builds on the last. In reality, Sheetrock® UltraLight PRO represents the culmination of 100 years of research and innovation.

CGC leverages the Corporate Innovation Center (CIC) of our parent company USG where R&D is carried out to make products safer, greener and more resistant to fire, moisture or noise. We’ve invested countless resources in making wallboard lighter, more durable, safer and more sustainable and have more than 2,400 active U.S. and international patents.

Our forward-thinking culture is a big part of what has enabled our business to thrive and grow for so long, through good times and bad. It’s how we patented the product that has become, in many circles, synonymous with the product category itself: Sheetrock®. 

Listening and Adapting 

With today’s pace of innovation, companies that get complacent will fall behind. So how can CGC continue to improve our materials and stay ahead of curve? How can we create the next iteration of Sheetrock® UltraLight PRO and other essential materials?

The key is listening to end users and meeting their needs.

With top tier in-house expertise across the CGC and USG network, and substantial resources invested in R&D, there are limitless things we could do to improve building materials. But listening to our customers is what gives us guidance on what we should do.  

We conscientiously listen to our customers and spend time on the ground to experience what they experience with our products.

Canada’s builders, contractors and developers are contending with diverse challenges. They are constantly asked to do more with less. Many are running lean operations with fewer staff on work sites and an aging workforce. The construction industry faces constant scrutiny on its environmental footprint and is too often branded as lacking innovation or productivity.

The skilled tradespeople and business owners who keep Canada’s construction projects running should not have to dedicate mental energy worrying about whether their materials will be up to their standards, sustainably produced or easy for their employees to use. CGC’s customers rely on us to listen to their feedback, act responsibly and sustainably and invest in R&D to give them peace of mind their products are high-quality and up to code. 

It’s our responsibility to step up and solve the industry’s biggest challenges. To lighten the load of the men and women who are building our future.

And Sheetrock® UltraLight PRO is just the latest example of how we are doing exactly that.