Owens Corning to invest in Glass Fabric Knitting

Mumbai: Owens Corning (OC) announced today that it will add glass fibre knitting capability at the Taloja, India, plant of Owens Corning India Limited, a joint venture between Owens Corning, USA and Mahindra & Mahindra, India. The investment adds fabric knitting to the plant's existing glass roving operations, to supply to the growing market demand in India and surrounding regions, especially for the wind energy market. India is currently the fifth largest country in the world in terms of installed capacity of wind mills.

"This investment is another step in demonstrating our commitment to the growth of the composites industry as well as the fabrics market, by expanding our ability to make and distribute all facets of fabrics on both a local and worldwide basis," said Jeff Boersma, vice president and general manager of Owens Corning's fabrics business.

"As the global leader in the composites industry," added Owens Corning Composites Business President Chuck Dana, "this investment is a testament to OC's purpose of delivering solutions, transforming markets and enhancing lives. And, it demonstrates our commitment to our customers' success and their bright future by investing locally in the markets where they do business to offer tailored, low-cost manufacturing platforms."

Satish Kulkarni, Managing Director for OCIL, added that the investment is key for India on a number of fronts. "Our expanded capacity at Taloja will benefit India in terms of economic development and energy conservation — especially with our country's current energy situation and the need for continued growth of alternative energy sources like wind energy," said Kulkarni. "Increasingly, composites solutions are helping transform the lives of people — especially in India, by offering environmentally friendly cost effective solutions to some of the basic issues like providing clean drinking water, electricity etc."