Owens Corning to Double Capacity for Technical Fabrics in Brazil to Help Customers Meet Global Demand for Wind Energy
December 09 2009 - 8:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
Facility Installing State-of-the-Art Fiberglass Fabric Knitting
Equipment TOLEDO, Ohio, Dec. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Owens
Corning (NYSE:OC), a leading global producer of residential and
commercial building materials, glass fiber reinforcements and
engineered materials for composite systems, today announced the
addition of glass fiber knitting equipment at its facility in Rio
Claro, northwest of Sao Paulo in Brazil, doubling its capacity for
making fiberglass technical fabrics. The addition is the third
expansion of capacity since the plant was established three years
ago. A portion of the new capacity began production in September;
the balance will be installed by year end. Demand for fiberglass
technical fabrics is growing in Brazil, driven by the success of
wind blade fabricators based in the region. Wind blades made in
Brazil are used in the local market and also exported. "This latest
expansion to our fabric knitting capacity highlights our strategy
to support market growth and emphasizes our commitment to help our
Latin America customers grow and succeed both locally and
globally," said Beth Rettig, OCV(TM) Technical Fabrics general
manager, Americas. OCV(TM) Reinforcements and OCV(TM) Technical
Fabrics provide material to Brazil's leading producers of blades
for the world's largest wind turbine manufacturers. The businesses
serve the market from two facilities in the state of Sao Paulo -
one making knitted fabrics and the other the company's patented
Advantex® glass fiber reinforcements. Advantex® glass technology
brings world-class energy efficiency and emissions control to glass
fiber production while providing unique product benefits including
corrosion resistance and high strength. The company has produced
fiberglass reinforcements in Brazil for many years. In July 2006,
it established the first facility for technical fabrics, including
woven, stitched and knitted products. Fabric capacity was doubled
in 2007, and in 2008 the company moved the operations to a new
facility and doubled capacity again. Technical fabrics are used in
several key industries but primarily in the wind energy market to
meet rising demand for renewable, alternate energy sources such as
wind power, which can benefit Latin America in terms of economic
development. Wind energy power generation is quickly developing on
a global scale. In Latin America, Brazil at present has the largest
installed capacity of wind energy power generation. It offers the
greatest potential, along with Argentina, where wind-based energy
has been attracting significant attention as an economically viable
source of electric power generation. In the country's southern
Patagonian provinces, there are consistently strong westerly winds.
To the north, the Mexico Renewable Energy Program promotes the
development of alternate energy sources. Mexico has good locations
and wind resources offering the potential to produce significant
renewable energy substituting more than half of the fossil fuel
utilized at present. About Owens Corning Owens Corning is a leading
global producer of glass fiber reinforcements and engineered
materials for composite systems and residential and commercial
building materials. A Fortune 500 company for 55 consecutive years,
Owens Corning is committed to driving sustainability through
delivering solutions, transforming markets and enhancing lives.
Founded in 1938, Owens Corning had sales of $6 billion in 2008 and
about 16,000 employees in 30 countries. OCV(TM) Reinforcements,
OCV(TM) Technical Fabrics and OCV(TM) Non-Woven Technologies are
the three main business units that make up the Owens Corning
Composite Solutions Business. The business delivers a broad range
of reinforcement products that provide lightweight alternatives to
steel, wood and aluminum, thereby reducing weight and improving
energy efficiency. Additional information is available at
http://www.owenscorning.com/. DATASOURCE: Owens Corning CONTACT:
Kerry Desberg, +1-419-248-5939 Web Site:
http://www.owenscorning.com/
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