US-based Owens Corning is a producer of residential and commercial building materials, glass-fibre reinforcements and engineered materials for composite systems. The company is upbeat on its business prospects in India and has expressed interest in acquisitions and forming joint ventures. In an exclusive interview with B2B Purchase, Upkar Raut talks about the company’s strategies.
How has the journey been so far for Owens Corning in India?Owens Corning is a leading global producer of residential and commercial building materials, glass-fibre reinforcements and engineered materials for composite systems. Founded in 1938, Owens Corning is a 76-year-old manufacturing excellence company. We are a market-leading innovator of glass-fibre technology with 2013 sales of $5.3 billion and approximately 15,000 employees in 28 countries on five continents. Currently Owens Corning has two manufacturing facilities in India, one at Taloja, near Mumbai in Maharashtra; and the other at Thimmapur, near Hyderabad. Our major end uses of Composite products in India are telecom, infrastructure, industrial, chemical, wind energy, etc. We are now focusing development on new market applications for our products. Our focus in the coming years will be on product applications in the infrastructure industry, including in construction and other cement based applications like high-performance concrete and asphalt pavements, which are found in roads, industrial flooring, etc.
What are your target market segments and major products you are offering in the field?The wide portfolio of Owens Corning products caters to most construction applications right from renders to pre-cast concrete, gypsum reinforcement, metal ceilings, and industrial floors. The most recent application is FRP re-bars, which is the next-generation product for sustainable construction.
The major sector we intend to tap using these products is infrastructure and construction, particularly roads, industrial floor, concrete and FRP pipes and the heavy foundations for wind turbine and marine structures. With the smart city project being coined on a pan India basis, our product will find applications in faster and sustainable construction with a higher and longer-lasting performance.
Our core competency, high-rise construction and structural concrete slabs on grade, will be further strengthened in the times to come with our fibre range designed for flooring. This fibre Anti-Crak HP 67/36 would be the key focus area in the times to come as it has got versatile applications. With the speed of construction is being a very important factor nowadays, we are in a position to leverage our expertise to the industry with our knowledge bank and technical research work done.
What makes you different from your competitors?As we see it, competition is a good thing for the growth of the market. In terms of the product offerings, we are confident that our quality is second to none. And when we say this, we say it with a lot of pride and conviction. We know the market, we know the competition and we know where to play.  In last 3 years, we have made a solid footprint in terms of reference projects and key customer wins. It was all possible because of the unmatched quality and proactive service we provide. We have a strong and reliable distribution network in place which can take care of any requirement – technical or commercial – in all the major markets in India.
We are also strong in roofing and building material products that complement our composite products. In fact, we have established a facility for XPS foam, which will help in thermal insulation.
Now that you have come up with Cem-FIL and Anti-Crack AR glass-fibre. Please tell us more on that.The Cem-FIL fibre is widely used for all the GRC applications. In India we have been providing GRC solutions for over 15 years now and the satisfaction level of the customers is appreciating year over year thanks to our continuous improvement.The performance and results of the micro fibre Anti-Crak HD is something of which we are very proud.  Within the first 3 years of its introduction in the market, we are able to witness growing demand for this product from projects in various cities. To name a few Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai and also among smaller cities in Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Raipur, Coimbatore, Guntur, etc. Customers have found a unique solution for dramatically reducing shrinkage cracks (both plastic and thermal). Additionally, they are observing some gains in compressive and flexural strength, even as early as day one. For concrete pavements and slabs-on-grade, we propose a macro fibre, Anti-Crak HP 67/36, (where HP stands for High Performance). This is a revolutionary fibre with the advantages of high initial and residual strength performance with easy application in pumping or pouring. Unlike other flexible fibres Anti-Crak fibres have a tensile strength of 1,700 MPa and the elastic modulus of 72 GPa, making it an ideal reinforcement for hardened concrete.  Another important characteristic is its specific gravity of 2.68 gm/cm3, which is similar to the aggregates in concrete. As such, it does not sink or float during compaction by vibration. By replacing the welded wire mesh or steel reinforcement, it is easily dispersed in the mixer, is pumpable, and greatly reduces fabrication time, whilst providing a uniformly distributed reinforcement which resists cracking throughout the life of the concrete, and displays no problems with surface finish. 
Would you like to share your target for the current fiscal and future expansion plans?We are here to stay and grow the market. With two manufacturing locations and global technology, we are here to ‘Make in India for India’. We look to contribute to ‘Green India Grow India’.
The company is both looking to strengthen its existing streams such as fibreglass insulation and aesthetic roofing solutions, and entering new areas.
We are open to considering acquisitions and forming joint ventures to tap new businesses, while expanding organically with products we make here.