US integrated composites solutions provider Owens Corning has infused US$ 5 million into its global research and development headquarters in Granville, a rural town 30 miles east of Columbus, Ohio, US…
US integrated composites solutions provider Owens Corning has infused US$ 5 million into its global research and development headquarters in Granville, a rural town 30 miles east of Columbus, Ohio, US. In a rededication ceremony on 1 August, officials from the Toledo, Ohio-based building materials firm unveiled three buildings that now make up its science and technology centre. The buildings encompass 200,000 sq. ft., replacing 22 buildings that covered 670,000 sq. ft. in office and lab space. Owens Corning bought the former farm site in 1955. Officials say they have not made a decision on what to do with the now-empty building space. Only six of the buildings housed employees; most were used for storage. The integration project, as it is called, is designed to increase productivity 4% or more by putting resources and 365 employees closer together. The investment also includes new testing equipment, as the firm has shed antiquated machines. The project integrates offices, labs and prototyping facilities across all of Owens Corning“s business units, said Frank O“Brien-Bernini, vice president of science and technology. For example, test and development areas for injection moulding were separate from extrusion and compounding. Those areas have been combined and the centre now has a high-bay area. Organic chemistry labs are now in the same area as composite-development areas. “That allowed us to upgrade equipment in a very cost-effective way,” O“Brien-Bernini said. “Now we“re not staring at what it costs to upgrade four different ovens. We“re going to have a single, well-controlled, high-efficiency oven that will support all of it, and we auctioned off the other equipment and dropped our total capital base.” Also, employees will spend less time traveling around the 524-acre campus. “That really sapped productivity,” said Charlie Pratt, vice president of technology for exterior systems and siding solutions. “Now, you“re literally going to have people from three or four different business units working on similar things in one space in the same day and sharing information.” Owens Corning reported 2001 sales of almost US$ 4.8 billion, compared with 2000 sales of US$ 4.9 billion.