Grindwell Norton (GNO), a company listed on the Bombay and National Stock Exchanges, pioneered the manufacture of grinding wheels in India in 1941. In 1990, Saint-Gobain acquired Norton Company, USA, worldwide and thereby became a shareholder in GNO. In 1996, Saint-Gobain increased its equity stake, making GNO its first majority-owned subsidiary in India. Today, GNO’s businesses include: Abrasives, Ceramic Materials Businesses (Silicon Carbide and Performance Ceramics & Refractories), Performance Plastics and ADFORS. The Saint-Gobain Country Head office, INDEC (the captive India IT Development Centre for the Saint-Gobain Group globally) and CertainTeed are also part of GNO. GNO’s subsidiary, Saint-Gobain Ceramic Materials Bhutan Pvt. Ltd., manufactures Silicon Carbide. The Group currently holds 51.66% of the equity capital of GNO.