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Owens Corning Recognized for Missouri Expansion

  • March 15, 2016

MakeThumbnail.aspxOwens Corning was recently recognized with a CiCi Award for Community Impact by Trade and Industry Development magazine.

In 2011, the rural city of Joplin, Missouri, population 50,000, was devastated by a tornado that caused $2.8 billion in damage. While the tenacious community has rebuilt itself, the news that Owens Corning is coming to town is especially good news.

Fortune 500 building-material manufacturer Owens Corning is investing $90 million in Joplin to purchase and fully equip a 303,000 square-foot facility for building material manufacturing. Families in the region will benefit from over 100 new jobs and an increased tax base. The company expects the facility to be fully operational in 2016.

“Our county has benefitted from a long manufacturing history at this location,” said County Commissioner Darius Adams. “Owens Corning’s decision to locate in this building not only breathes life back into a once vacant building, but it goes beyond with its substantial capital investment and creation of high-quality manufacturing jobs for the area.”

Owens Corning is a global manufacturer of insulation, roofing and fiberglass composite. The new Joplin facility will manufacture its Thermafiber brand of mineral wool insulation for commercial, residential and industrial applications. Thermafiber mineral wool resists fire and temperatures exceeding 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit and provides sound control and energy efficiency.

“As a company that only operates in markets with attractive, long-term macro drivers such as global industrial production, material substitution, U.S. housing and energy efficiency, our decision to locate in Joplin says a lot about the region and the state. Our new location puts us close to attractive markets and accessible raw materials, a decision we believe will result in higher productivity and an increase in efficiency,” said Julian Francis, president of Owens Corning Insulation. “We will both benefit from Missouri’s reputable workforce. As demand for mineral wool increases, we will need many hands on deck to fulfill orders and we are eager to tap into the state’s talent.”

For information on how you can join Owens Corning in Missouri, contact us today.