Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Resin pricing news
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
December 02, 2002 01:00 AM

OC shifts tactics after corporate review

  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    Owens Corning is seeking a buyer for its vinyl siding extrusion facility in Atlanta, the result of an eight-month review of its entire business.

    The company also is selling its metal siding business and, at least temporarily, is exiting the vinyl fencing, decking and railing business.

    The Toledo, Ohio-based building products company does not plan to sell its entire vinyl siding business, officials said, countering some industry speculation.

    ``Our goal is to sell [the Atlanta facility] to someone who will continue to operate it and hire both management and employees who are there,'' said Stephen Krull, vice president of corporate communications. ``We are currently in negotiations with a potential industry buyer. They're interested in purchasing the plant as a turnkey facility to produce vinyl siding.''

    The facility employs 134, with seven extrusion lines in 225,000 square feet of office, manufacturing and warehouse space. Krull would not identify the potential buyer, but said Owens Corning hopes to finalize negotiations soon.

    The plant originally was owned by Fabwel Inc., which Owens Corning acquired in 1997 as part of Fibreboard Corp. The Atlanta site is Owens Corning's least-profitable and least-utilized facility, Krull said. Earlier this year Owens Corning stopped serving the lagging manufactured-housing market, which placed a burden on that plant.

    The plant had been producing Owens Corning-brand siding, sold through independent distributors. The company's new strategy is to place Vytec, Homeside, Norandex and Reynolds siding under the Owens Corning umbrella. Vytec siding will be sold through independent distributors.

    ``We have developed a new sales organization specifically to support the Vytec brand and look for Vytec to provide continued growth and stability in the [independent distribution] channel,'' Siding Solutions President Dan Dietzel wrote in a Nov. 20 letter to customers.

    Homeside siding will be sold through wholesale distributors, which sell to lumberyards and home centers.

    Krull said the company will not hold rigidly to those distribution channels and has to maintain flexibility. Still, managing channel conflict is a continuing challenge for a company of Owens Corning's size, Krull said.

    ``We're aware that channel conflict exists,'' he said. ``We're sensitive to it and we think we do a good job of managing those issues.''

    The announcements outline the future of the newly formed Siding Solutions business under Chief Executive Officer Dave Brown, who filled Glen Hiner's post after Hiner's retirement earlier this year. In July, the firm combined metals and vinyl with its Norandex/Reynolds distribution business.

    Owens Corning filed for protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in 2000, but Krull said creditors are not forcing the changes.

    ``We would be making these decisions whether or not we were in bankruptcy,'' he said.

    Separately, Owens Corning completely has exited the business of vinyl fencing, decking and railing, less than one year after launching those product lines. Owens Corning did not extrude those lineals, officials said.

    ``We broke our businesses into different segments, and we looked at everything, and nothing was considered off-base in that review,'' Krull said. ``It was not strategic for us going forward. We're not saying it might not potentially be a good market for others to participate in; it's just not strategic for Owens Corning.''

    Industry sources said Owens Corning still plans to be a player in the growing market, potentially introducing lineals in the near future made from alternative plastic materials. But Krull said, ``I know of no plans for that at this time.''

    In a 2002 Plastics News ranking, Owens Corning had an estimated $336 million in profile sales. It now operates extrusion facilities in Claremont, N.C.; London, Ontario; Joplin, Mo.; and Olive Branch, Miss.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Thermoformer Genpak closing Ohio facility, cutting 67 jobs
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Asahi Kasei settles Michigan PFAS lawsuit, agrees to clean up pollution
    2
    Numbers That Matter Live January 2023: Expect short-term pain, strong rebound in 2024
    3
    Berry, Coca-Cola launch tethered caps in EU markets
    4
    Berry sees growing health care demand in India; new plant to open soon
    5
    Top-dollar deals, repeat buyers highlight 2022 M&A
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Resin pricing news
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified