PARIS, April 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Owens Corning
(NYSE: OC), a leading global producer of glass fiber reinforcements
for composite systems and residential and commercial building
materials, announced today that the company has established an
excellence center for technical fabrics at its manufacturing
facility in Zele, Belgium. The
5,500-square-meter (about 60,000 square feet) facility will have
both pilot- and full-scale state-of-the-art production equipment
for developing, testing and evaluating new fabric technologies
before production and use in customer processes.
In addition to equipment for weaving, stitching and assembling
multi-axial fabrics, the center will have a laboratory for testing
new fabric technologies in infusion molding and other closed-mold
processes.
"The new excellence center is a dedicated facility for
partnering and working closely on new fabric developments with our
customers using state-of-the-art equipment," said Mark Neville, vice president and managing
director of OCV™ Technical Fabrics.
"By centralizing our fabric development activities in Zele, we
will have more flexibility in scheduling and can continue the work
24/7 if necessary," added Neville. "The expertise at this center
will also further drive standardization and quality in our
manufacturing facilities to better serve our customers."
Dr. Chris Skinner, director of
global technical marketing for OCV™ Technical Fabrics, says having
a focused fabrics excellence center is a logical next step in the
evolution of composite materials.
"A lot of development has already been in invested fabrics for
composites," explains Skinner. "But our processes and our
customers' processes continue to evolve and become more
sophisticated, requiring technical solutions. As a major integrated
company, we are able to work systematically on the design and
optimization of the total reinforcement system as it is prepared
for and used by our customers. The excellence center takes this
ability to work on the total system to the next level."
Skinner says it is no small undertaking to set up equipment for
running multi-axial fabric trials. "A production machine may have
1,000 or more packages of roving in the creel that is feeding it,"
he explains. "Even a pilot-scale machine requires changing many
packages. The new facility gives us the flexibility to make
multiple changes and stay with a project until we get the answers
we and our customers need.
"The center enables us to deliver on what customers expect from
the world's largest and most knowledgeable technical fabrics
supplier," concluded Skinner. "We continue to be the partner of
choice for major fabricators in existing markets like wind energy,
pipe rehabilitation, marine and industrial."
Ashish Diwanji, vice president
for innovations in the Owens Corning Composite Solutions Business,
said the center is also a strong addition to the company's global
science and technology network.
"The excellence center for technical fabrics has robust links to
the company's major innovation centers in Chambery (France) and Granville (Ohio, USA), enabling rapid introduction of
fundamental innovations by the fabrics business," explained
Diwanji. "The center is a major tool for supporting our customers
in developing new applications and markets for composites, and for
continuing our more than 70 years of leading glass fiber materials
innovation."
For more about OCV™ Technical Fabrics, visit
www.ocvtechnicalfabrics.com.
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 $4.8 billion in 2009 and
about 16,000 employees in 28 countries on five continents. OCV™
Reinforcements, OCV™ Technical Fabrics and OCV™ 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 www.owenscorning.com.
SOURCE Owens Corning