Completion of Tender Offer for Furon Company

COMPAGNIE DE SAINT-GOBAIN
25 October 1999

                SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THE TENDER OFFER
                           FOR FURON COMPANY

Norton Company, a US subsidiary of Compagnie de Saint-Gobain, announced the
successful completion of its tender offer for all of the outstanding shares of
the American company Furon.  The offer expired, as scheduled, at 12:00 midnight
(EDT) on Friday, October 22, 1999.

Based on preliminary information from the depositary for the offer,
approximately 96% of the outstanding shares of Furon Company have been tendered.

Norton and Furon will now proceed to complete a merger pursuant to which Furon
Company will become an wholly owned subsidiary of Norton Company.  The merger is
expected to be completed by the end of November.

With the acquisition of Furon, the leading US manufacturer of high performance
plastics, Saint-Gobain creates a global leader in this fast growing industry.


                        Investor Relations Department
                   Tel.: Florence TRIOU            01 47 62 45 19
                   Tel.: Lounis BEKKAT             01 47 62 32 36
                                            Fax:   [phone]