JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #114 - July 2017 - 20

BUSINESS glass fibre
tures as two "big frontier"
markets: automotive with
OEMs, and Tier Ones for
structural and semistructural
applications. We want to
fill in the gap between
"standard" glass fibre and
carbon fibre. There are
many infrastructural needs,
for example nonwovens
for building, concrete reinforcement, or pipe relining.
How are you keeping up with
this technological and volume
growth?

A.G.:

We continue to
invest in the developing
geographical markets. For
example, we invested $120
million in a new plant in
India and created a website

dedicated to the Indian
market, because we also play
a role in market education
(Editor's note: this has been
a prized Owens Corning role
for a number of decades, and
the company has provided
instruction on composites
in many local markets).
We continue to focus
on launching 10-20 new
products each year. There
will be more breakthroughs
in the future, including
new solutions with real cost/
performance optimums.
We have a number of
dedicated laboratories: for
processes in France and
the U.S.; for applications in
France, the U.S. and China;
for fabrics in Belgium;

Flowtite continuously wound GRP pipes. Applications: Municipal and industrial
fluid transport up to 4,000 mm diameter and 32 bar nominal pressure. Provided by
Amiantit. Based on Owens Corning Advantex® technology.

Fiberglass rebar cage to reinforce precast tunnel segments. Provided by ATP srl
Italy. Based on Owens Corning Pulstrand® 4100.

and for nonwovens in the
Netherlands.
And
our
offering of support services

doesn't stop there - we
also offer process and cost
simulation services.

revival of the U.S. housing
market and moderate growth
of industrial activities worldwide. It is hoping for continuous growth of demand in
the roofing market for new
builds and reroofing. Given
the timing of the price increases in March, however,
the increase should be less
spectacular for the rest of the
year compared to the first
quarter.

For the Composites Business
Unit, the company anticipates sustained growth of the
glass fibre market, due to the
moderate increase in industrial production worldwide,
and expects a third consecutive year of record EBIT with
an increase of about US$25
million, mainly due to enhanced operational performance. A strong sustained
performance in volumes
could further improve these
prognostics.

Key points
The use of composites in body-in-white applications and, more generally, in structural parts is going
to rise in a growing market. Owens Corning estimates that worldwide production will grow to 100
million vehicles by 2019. Composites could help reduce the weight of each vehicle by about a hundred
kilograms by 2020, through the use of 20-25 kilograms of reinforcement per vehicle. Over the short
term, aluminium should replace steel. However, over the medium-to-long term, composites will make
it possible to integrate more functions - although that will require rethinking the vehicle modules.
Owens Corning intends to meet the industry's needs in terms of manufacturing efficiency, the cost of
material use, hydrolysis resistance, weight savings, design freedom and function integration. It will
do so by proposing new solutions for long fibres that are dedicated to polypropylenes and polyamides,
polyester and vinylester based SMCs, thermoplastic reinforcements (PA6, PA66 and PBT), epoxy-based
SMCs, and Class A SMCs. The announced performance advantages compared to previous generations
are in the double-digit percentages!
And thanks to its three support centres in the United States, Europe and China, Owens Corning intends
to reduce development costs through the use of advanced modelling for the design of laminates, parts
and structures, and for analysis procedures for failure, micromechanics and cost. The company also
provides the corrosion market with support.

jec composites magazine / N°114 July 2017

The insulation segment has
resumed growth, thanks to
the recovery of the American
housing market, and should
continue to grow. The 2017
forecast is for a roughly
US$100 million increase in
sales and an EBIT of US$160
million or more.
More information:
www.owenscorning.com/
composites/

http://www.owenscorning.com/composites

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #114 - July 2017