8 July 1999: US-based Owens Corning, producers of building materials and glass fibre composites systems, announced its entry into the Australian composites markets through the establishment of Owens C…
8 July 1999: US-based Owens Corning, producers of building materials and glass fibre composites systems, announced its entry into the Australian composites markets through the establishment of Owens Corning Australia. The company“s global vice president of marketing for the Composites Systems Business, Peter Garforth, said Owens Corning“s sales, technical support and warehousing facilities in Australia are fully operational to service the Australian and New Zealand markets. The company has been supplying products, as well as technical and application support, to the composites industry in the country since March 1999. Owens Corning currently has a sales office in Melbourne, providing service to customers in Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, and Western Australia, and a sales office in Sydney servicing New South Wales and Queensland. It also has warehousing facilities in Victoria and New South Wales. The company“s move into Australia demonstrates a commitment to providing direct, in-country support to Australian customers and is part of a strengthening presence in Asia Pacific. “We are excited to have the opportunity of serving the Australian market,” Garforth said. “The composites industry here has a lot of growth potential. Owens Corning is committed to bringing our global resources and expertise to help grow the local industry by providing innovative composites solutions, thereby helping our customers grow their businesses.” “We are focused on developing new applications of composites and developing new markets, while at the same time we continue to bring world-class quality products and services to meet market needs in glass fibre reinforcements,” he continued. Garforth said the Australian operation would be run by Ray Seddon, national manager for Australia. The company had 1998 sales of US$ 5 billion and employs approximately 20,000 worldwide.