India's manufacturing market is a growth-generator to be capitalised upon and Owens Corning has made its belief in its potential clear.
India Growth
Owens Corning has announced plans to invest $110 million (€97.8 million, £82.2 million) to expand the capacity of its Composites operations in India. The investment will support the growing India glass fibre market through the installation of a state-of-the-art 80,000-tonne glass melter at the Company’s existing facility in Taloja, India. The new melter is expected to begin start-up operations in early 2018.
"Owens Corning is the industry leader in the growing glass fiber market in India," said Arnaud Genis, Composite Solutions Business President. "This substantial investment in our Indian business demonstrates our confidence in the strength of the composites market and our continued commitment to our composites customers in both India and globally to meet the increasing demand for innovative glass fibre products."
The glass fibre market in India has grown at double-digit rates over the past decade and has operated at high levels of capacity utilisation for the past three years.
Marcio Sandri, Vice-President and Managing Director - Glass Reinforcements, stated: "Expanding our existing operations in India positions Owens Corning well to continue to benefit from a low-delivered cost platform while supporting growth in this region and worldwide. Additionally, this facility will leverage the newest technologies Owens Corning has developed to enable greater competitiveness in the market and deliver industry-leading products."