SINGAPORE, Oct. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- During JEC Innovative
International Composites Summit (I.I.C.S.) in Singapore, Chuck
Dana, group president of the Owens Corning Composite
Solutions Business, delivered a keynote speech outlining a 2020
vision for what the composites industry must do in the next 10
years to transform the materials market and gain market share
against steel, wood and aluminum.
"The need has never been greater for the value composite
materials deliver," said Dana. "Bridges, roads and pipes need
composites to resist corrosion and last longer. Cars, trucks,
trains and planes need to weigh less and be durable. And new,
cleaner energy sources like wind energy need the light weight and
strength that composite materials provide.
"Yet, even with the incredible progress we've made as an
industry developing thousands of applications for composites, our
share of the materials market is 1.5 percent," continued Dana,
outlining four macro trends key to driving greater use of composite
materials in the future: energy efficiency, renewable energy,
developing economies and sustainability.
"These trends can drive our industry," added Dana. "But to truly
benefit from the opportunities they deliver, we will all need to
keep an outside-in point of view on what our stakeholders are
looking for, and how we can most powerfully deliver on the promise
of composites."
Dana described key stakeholders for the industry as customers,
shareholders and governments.
Customers:
For customers, Dana highlighted the need for the industry to
match capacity to demand worldwide – especially in growth markets
like the BRIC countries, which he said should be renamed CIRB (for
China, India, Russia
and Brazil) to reflect the size of
their expected growth rates. "The CIRB markets alone already make
up a third of the demand for composite materials, and growth is
expected to continue to be strong," said Dana. "We have to be able
to supply customers in those markets, or the materials of choice
will simply remain traditional materials."
Shareholders:
Despite the opportunities to meet customer demand, Dana stressed
that this expansion is not possible without the industry's ability
to demonstrate sustained return on capital for shareholders. "The
last two years have given us a much more cynical financial world
and capital is hard to generate," stressed Dana. "A clear challenge
for our industry is to continue to generate returns that will allow
us to continue to grow and invest. Cash is king, and necessary to
fuel growth that will allow the world to truly take advantage of
the benefits of composite materials."
Governments:
When it comes to governments, Dana noted that increasing
pressure to raise the bar on sustainability at every level will be
key for industry players looking to expand globally.
"The opportunity and the need is tremendous to continue to
innovate and educate governments and customers on how composites
can improve the durability of infrastructure and enable new,
renewable energy sources," he said.
"Now is our time," Dana concluded. "But as leaders in the
industry, to increase our share of the materials market we have to
turn our vision outward and focus on the true competition, which is
traditional materials. Sustainable returns on capital, capacity
investments to ensure our global customers have the products where
and when they want them, and continuing to educate on how
composites can help customers and governments meet sustainability
goals, is a powerful combination and a focus that will truly help
drive the use of composite materials in the market."
About Owens Corning
Owens Corning (NYSE: OC) 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 56 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.
About JEC Composites
JEC is dedicated to promoting composites internationally. It
supports the development of these materials by fostering knowledge
transfer and exchanges between suppliers and users. To date, the
JEC network connects more than 250,000 professionals worldwide from
96 different countries all around the world. JEC is a simplified
joint stock company established under French law that was created
by the Composites Promotion Center (CPC), a non-profit association
that holds the capital. Its mission is to develop products and
services by reinvesting all the benefits to create added value for
its customers and for the composite industry. For more
information about JEC Composites, visit our website at
www.jeccomposites.com
About JEC Show Asia 2010
JEC Show Asia 2010 is the leading composites platform in the
Asia Pacific region that brings
together all global composites industry players. Supported by major
professional composites associations from Australia, China and Taiwan, India, Japan,
Thailand, South Korea, Malaysia, New
Zealand, and other countries, JEC Asia Conference &
Exhibition has secured participation from major companies from all
over Asia Pacific and western
companies, including leading exhibiting companies from every
segment that makes up the value chain of the composites
industry.
SOURCE Owens Corning
Copyright . 15 PR Newswire