Owens Corning

Not to be confused with Corning Inc. or Owens-Illinois.
Owens Corning
Public
Traded as NYSE: OC
Industry General Building Materials, Composites
Founded Toledo, Ohio (1938)
Headquarters Toledo, Ohio, USA
Key people
 Michael H. Thaman, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
Products

Insulating systems
Composite solutions
Roofing and asphalt

Other building materials and services
Revenue Increase US$05.3 billion (2014)
$346 million (2014)
$226 million (2014)
Total assets $7.55 billion (2014)
Total equity $3.69 billion (2014)
Number of employees
 15,000
Website www.owenscorning.com

Owens Corning is a global company that develops and produces insulation, roofing, and fiberglass composites.[1] It was formed in 1935 as a partnership between two major American glassworks, Corning Glass Works and Owens-Illinois. The company employs approximately 15,000 people around the world.[2][3] Owens Corning has been a Fortune 500 company every year since the list was created in 1955.[3][4]

History

1935-1980

Owens-Corning Fiberglass Company was formed in 1935 through the merger of Owens-Illinois and Corning Glass Works.[5][6] It became a separate company in 1938 with its headquarters established in Toledo, Ohio.[3][7] In 1938, the company sales reached $2.6 million.[8]

The company held its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange in 1952.[9] In 1955, Owens-Corning purchased land for a research and testing facility near Granville, Ohio.[8] Also in 1955, Owens-Corning made the first Fortune 500 company list. The company has been on the Fortune 500 list every year since its creation.[3][4]

In 1965, Owens-Corning Fiberglas Europe was formed. In 1966, Owens-Corning established a partnership with Armstrong Rubber Co. to produce fiberglass-reinforced automobile tires. By 1971, Owens-Corning's annual revenue was over $500 million. In 1974, the company opened a temporary plant to produce insulation for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. In 1977, Owens-Corning acquired Frye Roofing and began production of fiberglass mat to replace traditional paper mat used in roofing.[10] Owens-Corning sales surpassed $1 billion in 1976, and sales were over $2 billion by 1979. Owens-Corning began using the United Artists cartoon character Pink Panther in its PINK Fiberglas insulation marketing in 1979.[8]

The first asbestos-related claims against Owens Corning emerged in 1978 when two shipyard workers with asbestosis chose to file a class action lawsuit on behalf of 5,000 other workers. The lawsuit, filed against Owens Corning and 14 other manufacturers of asbestos-containing products, alleged the companies knew about the dangers of asbestos as early as 1938, but failed to properly warn workers about the hazards of asbestos exposure.[11]

1981-present

Owens Corning Headquarters

In 1985, Owens-Corning acquired Aerospace and Strategic Metals Group in Newport Beach, California for $415 million from Armco Inc.[12][13] The color PINK was trademarked through Owens-Corning in 1986, making it the first company to trademark a color.

In 1986, the company countered a hostile takeover bid by taking on $2.5 billion in debt, a move from which it never recovered. During the late 1980s, the company was inundated by asbestos-related litigation. By 1990, Owens Corning was the defendant in roughly 84,500 asbestos-related lawsuits. The company's decline continued through the 1990s, and in 1997, Owens Corning acquired Fibreboard Corporation, a manufacturer who also made use of asbestos in its older products.[14]

The company opened an Asia/Pacific division in 1993.[15] In May 1994, Owens Corning acquired UC Industries, which produced Foamular polystyrene insulation, as a wholly owned subsidiary.[16] In 1996, the company changed its name to Owens Corning. Fibreboard Corp. became a wholly owned subsidiary of Owens Corning in 1997.[8] The company was ordered to pay $5 million to an asbestos victim in 1997, making it the highest jury verdict in the history of the United States for a single non-malignant asbestos case.[17] In 1999, a jury in federal district court in Florida awarded $1.8 million compensatory damages and $31 million punitive damages against the company for asbestos products.[18]

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2000. In 2002, Owens Corning removed its shares from the New York Stock Exchange. In 2006, as a result of the bankruptcy of the company and its wholly owned subsidiary Fibreboard, Owens Corning created a personal injury trust to handle asbestos-related claims filed against both companies.[19] That same year, the company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange again under ticker "OC." In 2007, Owens Corning announced a joint venture with Saint-Gobain named OCV Reinforcements.

Owens Corning partnered with DuPont in 2011 to create a steel and foam energy reduction (SAFER) barrier around auto racetracks.[8] In July 2015, the company announced it would be moving a manufacturing center for mineral wool insulation into an empty plant west of Joplin, Missouri.[2][20]

Products

In 1939, the U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships made Owens Corning insulation standard in new warship construction. Warship insulation, called Navy Board, was a permanent form-board insulation covered with woven continuous fiber cloth. Owens Corning produced a prototype boat hull constructed of fiber glass-reinforced plastic in 1944.[8]

In 1945, the company worked with an automaker to produce the first fiberglass-reinforced plastic car body. In 1953, General Motors used this type of body in the Chevrolet Corvette.[15] In 1954, the company invented a process to make centrifugally-spun fiberglass wool, which became the standard process for producing fiberglass insulation.

In 1955, Owens Corning introduced its Perma-Ply roofing material for built-up room insulation covering. The company created its first all fiber (AF) fiberglass wool in 1956. To distinguish its product, the company dyed their insulation pink by adding red dye to the AF wool.[8][21]

After the January 27, 1967 Apollo 1 fire which killed three astronauts, NASA worked with Owens Corning and Du Pont to develop beta cloth, a fireproof cloth of woven fiberglass coated with Teflon, as a replacement for the nylon outer layer of the Apollo/Skylab A7L space suit.[22][23][24]

Environmental work

In the Kansas City metropolitan area, Owens Corning purchases locally-sourced recycled glass from Ripple Glass to manufacture fiberglass insulation in its local manufacturing plant. The joint effort between Owens Corning and Ripple Glass is helping to greatly reduce the amount of glass that would have been deposited in local Kansas City landfills.[25] The Owens Corning Roofing and Asphalt Shingle Recycling Program was launched in 2009 to keep shingles out of landfills.[26]

In 2013, Constellation Energy built a 2.7-megawatt solar power system at an Owens Corning insulation plant in Delmar, New York. The power system, which is leased to Owens Corning, can produce 3.3 million kilowatt hours of electrical energy in a year.[27][28]

The National Safety Council awarded Owens Corning the Green Cross for Safety medal in 2014.[29] Owens Corning received a perfect score of 100 percent on the 2015 Corporate Equality Index released by the Human Rights Campaign.[30] Owens Corning has been recognized on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for six consecutive years as of 2015.[31]

References

  1. ↑ Glenn Collins (12 November 1994). "Europe's Insulation Market Is Target of Owens-Corning". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  2. 1 2 Redden, Susan (10 July 2015). "Governor, local officials, welcome Owens Corning division to Joplin". The Joplin Globe. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Linkhorn, Tyrel (27 October 2013). "A marriage of two companies, Owens Corning celebrates 75th anniversary". The Blade. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  4. 1 2 "1955 Full list". Fortune. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  5. ↑ "The Great Depression" (PDF). Toledo Library. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  6. ↑ Keller, Michael E. (1998). The Graham Legacy: Graham-Paige to 1932. Turner Publishing Company.
  7. ↑ "Fiber Glass Premiere (Feb, 1938)". Modern Mechanix. February 1938.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Owens Corning company timeline". Toledo Blade. 26 October 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  9. ↑ "Once a crucible of new companies, Toledo is ready to have IPOs again". Toledo Blade. 28 March 2000. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  10. ↑ "Environmental Impact" (PDF). RTD FastTracks. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  11. ↑ "Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation". Asbestos.com. The Mesothelioma Center. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  12. ↑ "Orange County". Los Angeles Times. 27 September 1985. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  13. ↑ Horovitz, Bruce (17 August 1985). "Owens-Corning Agrees to Buy Armco Group". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  14. ↑ "Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation". Asbestos.com. The Mesothelioma Center. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  15. 1 2 International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 20. St. James Press. 1998.
  16. ↑ Sarkis, Lisa (31 July 1995). "UC Industries Boots Foamular Capacity". Plastics News. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  17. ↑ Fakler, John T. (28 November 2005). "Law firm adds partners, changes name". South Florida Business Journal. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  18. ↑ "Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation, petitioner, v. Deward Ballard, Respondent.". Supreme Court of Florida. 26 August 1999. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  19. ↑ "Owens Corning/Fibreboard Asbestos Personal Injury Trust". Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  20. ↑ "Owens Corning Plans $90 Million Manufacturing Complex In Joplin, Missouri". Area Development. 10 July 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  21. ↑ Harris-Taylor Marlene (26 October 2013). "Pink Panther, color carry considerable value in Owens Corning marketing efforts". Toledo Blade. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  22. ↑ Space.com: Everyday Tech From Space: Fiberglass Fibers for Fabric Roofs
  23. ↑ Extreme Textiles: Designing for High Performance
  24. ↑ Crew Patch reference guide
  25. ↑ Environmental Leader 2009
  26. ↑ "Owens Corning Roofing and Asphalt Shingle Recycling Program Approaches Milestone". Roofing Contractor. 2 October 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  27. ↑ "How Owens Corning Is Taking Big Steps To Reduce Its Environmental Footprint". Business Insider. 8 July 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  28. ↑ "Constellation completes solar project for Owens Corning". Baltimore Business Journal. 15 October 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  29. ↑ "National Safety Council honors Owens Corning with the 2014 Green Cross for Safety medal" (PDF). National Safety Council. 11 April 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  30. ↑ "Corporate Equality Index 2015" (PDF). Human Rights Campaign Foundation. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  31. ↑ "Owens Corning placed on DJSI World for sixth straight year". Global Insulation. 11 September 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2015.

External links

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