PAWTUCKET, R.I., November 18, 2003 -- NEPTCO and Owens Corning announced today a definitive agreement to combine both companies’ glass-based rigid strength element and flexible reinforcement businesses. The NEPTCO LLC joint venture will develop, manufacture, market and sell industry recognized products including LIGHTLINE®, FLEXLINE®, SoftStrand®, and UltraStrand™ branded products which are used in the manufacture of copper and fiber optic telecommunications and data transmission cables.
“We believe the joint venture will provide our customers with a significant portfolio of products, technical expertise, and application know-how, driven by increases in bandwidth demand for data, video, and voice communications,” says NEPTCO president, Guy Marini. “The joint venture will also provide vast material science experience in terms of developing products that meet tomorrow’s demanding cable networks. This joint venture is a logical step in combining world class products, manufacturing excellence, and superb customer service to our customers worldwide.”
“This move leverages the strengths of both Owens Corning and NEPTCO, creates a business that can match the needs of the market, and can continue to grow with our customers by investing in product/process technology and application development” said Raymund Trost, Owens Corning’s vice president and general manager of telecommunications.
Corporate headquarters for the joint venture will be located in Pawtucket, RI, with manufacturing and distribution facilities in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific regions. The joint venture will be fully operational by December 1, 2003.
About NEPTCO, Inc.
Since 1953, NEPTCO has engineered materials for commercial, industrial and military applications, including advanced polymeric coatings and laminates of film, foil, fiber, composites, paper, nonwovens, and custom formulated adhesives. NEPTCO offers contract manufacturing and product design services, with in-house capabilities for coating, laminating, printing, slitting and weaving at its ISO 9002 certified plants.
About Owens Corning
Owens Corning is a world leader in building materials systems and composite systems. Founded in 1938, the company had sales of $4.9 billion in 2002. Additional information is available on Owens Corning’s web site at www.owenscorning.com or by calling the company’s toll-free General Information line: 1-800-GETPINK. .
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