The remaining smokestack from the Dominion Glass operation is scheduled to be demolished by facility owner, CertainTeed Canada. -- News Photo Collin Gallant
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The last of two iconic “Dominion Glass” smokestacks in Redcliff will soon be taken down.
Fibre-glass insulation maker Certainteed has received a permit to remove the 175-foot brick chimney and water tank at its facility in the west end of the town, according to agenda of the an upcoming agenda of the Redcliff municipal planning commission.
Plant owner, St. Gobain, told the News that the structure is no longer used and, at more than 65 years since it was built, is at the end of its lifespan.
“We are proactively demolishing the stack… taking it down so it does not become a safety issue,” read a statement from the company, which stated that operations will not be affected by the demolition.
The company did not comment on the cost, but said it has invested “more than $5 million” at the facility in modernization projects since 2019.
The chimney has not been used for several decades, while the other working stack was demolished in 2021 and replaced with a steel 100-foot (30-metre) stack chimney.
Both brick structures dated to the 1950s when they were installed as upgrades to the Dominion Glass factory that operated from 1913 until it was closed in 1989.
It was then sold to Ottawa Fibre and converted to produce fibre-glass insulation. Global construction materials firm, St. Gobain-Certainteed, acquired the plant in 2009.
The already approved demolition permit was received the town’s planning commission on January 15.
The controlled demolition of the tall structure will not affect operations, and will involve crews dismantling the brick lattice in pieces from the top down and sending waste material down the stack for removal at ground level.
