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Owens Corning history
Owens Corning company history timeline
In 1938 the companies decided it might be better to operate the joint venture as a separate company.
Owens Corning Fiberglass Corporation was originally founded in 1938 and is known for inventing glass fiber and glass fiber insulation.
In 1938, the company sales reached $2.6 million.
Owens-Corning Fiberglass Company was formed in 1935 through the merger of Owens-Illinois and Corning Glass Works. It became a separate company in 1938 with its headquarters established in Toledo, Ohio.
1939: The United States Navy Bureau of Ships established Owens Corning insulation as the standard insulation for all horizontal and vertical spaces in all new warship construction.
1942 Pittsburgh Corning launches a new glass product – FOAMGLAS® cellular glass, a material with exceptional properties.
The first commercial product made using pre-forming was the Eames one-piece FRP chair.1945: Owens Corning worked with William Stout to develop the Stout-Scarab automobile: the first automobile with an FRP body.
1947: Owens Corning invented the Pre-Forming Process for making FRP parts.
1948: Owens Corning developed chopped strand for FRP applications.
Owens Corning was so successful that in 1949 Owens-Illinois and Corning Glass works were accused of illegally monopolizing the fiberglass industry through their joint control of the company.
Under a court-mandated consent decree in 1949, Owens Corning was required to license its patents to competitors, and both parent companies were forced to relinquish control of what had been their subsidiary for 14 years.
In 1949 the company built it first plant designed specifically for the manufacture of insulation.
1952 FOAMGLAS® insulation was used on the restoration of the White House in Washington D.C.
1952: The first fiberglass roving was made by Owens Corning for use in FRP fabrication.
The company held its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange in 1952.
Owens Corning led the way with its involvement in the first glass-fiber-reinforced automobile body, Chevrolet's Corvette in 1953.
In 1953, Owens Corning began distributing asbestos-containing insulation, later resulting in numerous asbestos personal injury lawsuits.
1955: The former H.C. Penney farm near Granville, Ohio, was purchased as the future site for the company’s principle research and testing facility.
Also in 1955, Owens-Corning made the first Fortune 500 company list.
1956: an experimental machine in Newark, Ohio, manufactured the first all fiber (AF) fiberglass wool, using the first AF fiberizer design.
1957 FOAMGLAS® insulation is introduced to the European market.
1960: the Granville Technical Center was completed, housing more than 250 research and development employees.
1963 Pittsburgh Corning Europe NV. is founded
1963: Beta Yarn was first made; it was used, among other purposes, in NASA spacesuits.
1964 Pittsburgh Corning builds a production unit in Tessenderlo, Belgium, to help meet the worldwide demand for FOAMGLAS® insulation.
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.
1969: Neil Armstrong took the first steps on the moon wearing a suit made from Owens Corning Beta® Fiberglas® yarns.
By 1971, Owens-Corning's annual revenue was over $500 million.
1975: The Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan, opened featuring a 10-acre Fiberglas fabric roof.
1977: Owens Corning purchased the Lloyd Fry Roofing Company and its subsidiary, the Trumbull Asphalt Company.
In 1977, Owens-Corning acquired Frye Roofing and began production of fiberglass mat to replace traditional paper mat used in roofing.
In 1978, two shipyard workers filed a class action lawsuit against which alleged that Owens-Corning and 14 other manufacturers had known about asbestos-containing products.
August 15, 1980: Owens Corning for the first time used United Artists’ cartoon character “The Pink Panther™” to help promote sales of pink Fiberglas insulation.
1984: Owens Corning began marketing double-wall underground storage tanks.
By 1985, Owens Corning had sold 100,000 fiberglass underground fuel storage tanks.
In 1985, Owens Corning produced the glass fibers and installed fabric in the renowned Hajj Terminal at King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
In 1985, Owens-Corning acquired Aerospace and Strategic Metals Group in Newport Beach, California for $415 million from Armco Inc.
In 1986, before the takeover bid, Owens Corning spent $63 million on research and development.
Owens Corning in 1986 rejected a hostile takeover offer from Wickes Companies Inc.
The color PINK was trademarked through Owens-Corning in 1986, making it the first company to trademark a color.
May 12, 1987: The color PINK® was registered as an Owens Corning trademark for insulation.
On August 6, 1987, Owens Corning notified the joint Asbestos Claim Facility's trustees that it intended to withdraw from the organization.
In 1987, this figure had been slashed to $29 million.
Prior to October 1988, all claims against various asbestos manufacturers were handled through a joint claims facility, set up by 55 corporations that contributed funds to its accounts.
October 31, 1988: The company celebrated the 50th anniversary of its founding.
Earnings were solid enough in 1989 to allow it to buy up the 50 percent share of Fiberglass Canada that had been owned by PPG Industries, a major competitor.
Net income and operating profit were both down in 1989 compared with the previous year.
In 1990, Owens Corning bore little resemblance to its former self.
By early 1990, total indebtedness had been reduced to less than $1.5 billion, and the company was generating profit beyond all expectations.
William Boeschenstein, chairman and CEO, stepped down in 1990, ending the family dynasty, which guided Owens Corning to its preeminent position in home and industrial fiberglass and polyester resins.
By 1990, Owens-Corning was the defendant in about 84,500 asbestos-related lawsuits.
September 9, 1992: Owens Corning unveiled its new (and current) logo, a square with an arc, symbolizing global commitment, and the words “Owens Corning.”
Established by then-Chairman and CEO Glen Hiner in 1992, Owens Corning's Core Values make up the framework on which the company's strategy is based.
He immediately reinstated Owens Corning's long-term research budget and by 1993 announced that, debt or no, the company was going to begin growing again.
In 1993 Hiner established a new division, Asia/Pacific, and traded its commercial roofing line to Schuller International (formerly Johns-Manville) for the latter's residential roofing business.
With debt down $100 million from 1993, to $800 million, Owens Corning officially dropped Fiberglass from its corporate name to reflect the new diversity of its product line.
The company opened an Asia/Pacific division in 1993.
In May 1994, Owens-Corning acquired UC Industries, which produced Foamular polystyrene insulation, as a wholly owned subsidiary.
In 1995 Owens Corning made five more acquisitions, adding foam manufacture and vinyl windows to its home-products arsenal, formed two new Latin American companies, and established a joint venture in India.
In 1996 it announced it would be contesting one-third of its asbestos case backlog and filed suit against three southeastern United States labs that it charged had falsified asbestos testing reports to incriminate Owens Corning.
In 1996, the company changed its name to Owens Corning.
By mid-1997 Owens Corning was still hampered by stagnant sales in Europe and the stock market seemed unimpressed by Hiner's reengineering feat.
In 1997, Owens Corning acquired the Fibreboard Corporation.
1997: Owens Corning announced the launch of Advantex™ glass fiber reinforcement, a new industry standard featuring enhanced heat and corrosion resistance.
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.
To meet its payments to NSP, Owens Corning was forced in 1999 to sell off some of its assets to raise cash.
1999: Owens Corning announced participation with General Motors and Ford Motor Company in vehicles featuring its advanced composite materials.
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.
By 2000, it had settled with 440,000 people who claimed Owens Corning’s products caused them to develop asbestos-related illnesses such as mesothelioma.
macintosh, julie. "asbestos worries snare wider range of u.s.firms." reuters business report, 12 december 2001.
Officers: Michael H. Thaman, Chmn. and CFO, 36, 2001 base salary $425,000; David T. Brown, Pres. and CEO, 52, 2001 base salary $400,000
The former accounted for roughly 83 percent of the company's total sales in 2001, with the remainder being generated by Composite Solutions.
Security analysts estimated that the cost of the remaining asbestos liability in January 2002 ranged from $20 billion to as high as $200 billion.
Owens Corning narrowed its net loss in the first quarter of 2002, reporting a shortfall of $6 million, compared with a loss of $10 million in the same quarter the previous year.
"business summary: owens corning." multex investor, 2002. available at http://www.marketguide.com.
In 2002, Owens Corning removed its shares from the New York Stock Exchange.
Our leadership first set a zero-injury goal in 2003 that has since remained a constant throughout our organization.
2003: The company took a formal stand, dedicating itself to an unconditional commitment to safety.
2006: The National Inventors Hall of Fame in Akron, Ohio, announced that Owens Corning innovators Dale Kleist, Doctor Russell “Games” Slayter, and John T. "Jack" Thomas – would be inducted posthumously into the Hall of Fame on May 5.
2006: Owens Corning introduced new technology for its Oakridge PRO® Series Shingle that offered faster installation, higher wind performance and a better appearance immediately after installation.
October 31, 2007: Owens Corning completed the acquisition of Saint-Gobain's Reinforcements and Composite Fabrics businesses.
2007: Owens Corning launched Duration™ Series shingles with SureNail® Technology.
2007: Owens Corning published its first sustainability report.
2008 A new European FOAMGLAS® production unit is set up in Klášterec, Czech Republic.
2009: Owens Corning introduced EnergyComplete™ with Flexible Seal Technology, a whole home insulation and air sealing system.
The application of high-performance Owens Corning mineral wool insulation soared to new heights in 2010 as part of the world’s tallest building.
2010: Owens Corning launched the Duration® Series Shingles Designer Colors Collection, a line of roofing shingles featuring vibrant color combinations that help home and building owners make a colorful statement.
2011: Owens Corning launched its EcoTouch™ PINK™ FIBERGLAS™ Insulation platform with PureFiber™ Technology featuring natural materials and a formaldehyde-free formulation.
2011: Owens Corning teamed with vendor DuPont to create a SAFER barrier around auto racetracks.
2012: the company launched a next generation of Duration® shingles – TruDefinition® Duration® Series Shingles.
October 31, 2013: Owens Corning sites around the world celebrated the 75th anniversary of the company’s founding.
2014 A new factory in Yantai, China opens, the first production unit of FOAMGLAS® insulation in Asia.
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.
In 2015, Owens Corning applied the museum’s approach to hazard recognition and incident investigation.
2015: Owens Corning dedicated a new solar parking canopy at its world headquarters, the single largest parking lot solar installation in the Midwest region of the United States.
In 2017, Owens Corning acquired Pittsburgh Corning, which produced FOAMGLAS® cellular glass insulation.
Based in Toledo, Ohio, Owens Corning posted 2017 sales of $6.4 billion and employs 19,000 people in 37 countries.
In 2017, there were two work-related fatalities at company manufacturing locations — the first in over a decade.
February 5, 2018: Owens Corning completed the acquisition of Paroc Group, a leading producer of mineral wool insulation for building and technical applications in Europe headquartered in Helsinki, Finland.
Based in Toledo, Ohio, USA, the company posted 2018 sales of $7.1 billion.
2018: Owens Corning became the first company to offer a formaldehyde-free perimeter fire containment system in North America.
2019: Owens Corning announced the issuance of its first green bond.
August 17, 2020: The company celebrated the 40th anniversary of its relationship with The Pink Panther™. Through the years, the iconic MGM character and company “spokescat” became one of the world’s most recognizable and beloved brand mascots.
2020: Owens Corning introduced the FOAMULAR® NGX product line designed to help architects, contractors, and engineers meet their sustainability goals.
August 2021: Owens Corning launched PINK Next Gen™ Fiberglas™ insulation featuring advanced fiber technology.May 18, 2021: Owens Corning earned the No.
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Owens Corning competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Dow Chemical Company | 1897 | $43.0B | 54,000 | 222 |
| O-I Glass | 1929 | $6.5B | 25,000 | 23 |
| Alcoa | 1888 | $11.9B | 14,600 | 39 |
| Avery Dennison | 1935 | $8.8B | 32,000 | 271 |
| Nucor | 1940 | $30.7B | 26,001 | 434 |
| PITTSBURGH CORNING | 1937 | $168.6M | 350 | - |
| Whirlpool | 1911 | $16.6B | 78,000 | 185 |
| Caterpillar | 1925 | $64.8B | 97,300 | 1,171 |
| Thermafiber | 1934 | $25.2M | 100 | - |
| Masco | 1929 | $7.8B | 26,000 | 222 |
Owens Corning history FAQs
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Owens Corning may also be known as or be related to Owens Corning and Owens Corning Inc.