In a further expansion into the building products market, Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp. has acquired Falcon Manufacturing of Michigan Inc., a manufac-turer of expanded polystyrene foam insulation. The deal, completed Aug. 31 for undisclosed terms, is the second building products supplier Owens-Corning has acquired in little more than a year. In May 1994, Owens-Corning acquired UC Industries Inc. of Parsippany, N.J., a maker ofextruded PS insulation.
Falcon, based in Byron Center, Mich., had sales of $33 million in the year ended June 30. It supplies insulation to garage door makers and recreational vehicle builders, and also sells into the construction and packaging markets. For the past three years sales have increased about 15 percent a year, said Falcon President Dirk Buth. That rate should continue in the current year, he said.
Until the sale to Owens-Corning, Falcon was owned by Buth; his brother Steve Buth, executive vice president; and founder James Allen. Dirk Buth said the partners decided to sell because Owens-Corning has the clout and financial resources to develop Falcon into a much larger business.
``That's really the reason we got together,'' Buth said. ``They're going to allow us to get to the next level.'' For example, Owens-Corning has experience in the home center and building products retail market, an area where Falcon ``has room for improvement,'' Buth said.
Falcon management will continue in place after the acquisition.
Falcon, with 190 employees, operates a 250,000-square-foot plant in Byron Center, where it makes foam in four block molds that can produce sections as long as 24 feet. The foam blocks are shaped to size with hot wire cutters.
For Owens-Corning, the Falcon acquisition fits into its strategy of expanding into new and diverse markets for foam products.
``This gets us into new applications,'' said spokesman William K. Hamilton.
The Toledo, Ohio-based firm, with $3.4 billion in sales last year, has set a goal of reaching $5 billion in sales by the year 2000. It expects to accomplish that goal by growing its existing glass, composites and plastics businesses and developing new products and markets around the globe.
