Owens Corning (Toledo, Ohio / USA; www.owenscorning.com) and Saint-Gobain (Paris / France; www.saint-gobain.com) are in discussions about merging their reinforced plastics businesses and the composites activities of Saint Gobain subsidiary Vetrotex. The new company, joining two of the sector´s pioneers, would be called Owens Corning-Vetrotex Reinforcements and would have annual sales of around EUR 1.5 bn with 10,000 employees. Its operations would span Europe, the Americas and Asia, including the "key emerging markets" of China, India, Russia, Mexico and Brazil.

Remaining with their current parent companies would be Saint-Gobain´s textile solutions business, which supplies mainly the construction industry, and Owens Corning´s Veil Technologies and Fabwell businesses.

Along with a strengthened geographic presence, expected to lead to "more security of supply and reduced shipping time," the two players said the merger would make them more competitive in a challenging market. Preliminary plans foresee Owens Corning taking a 60% stake in the new firm – to be headquartered at Toledo / Ohio – with an option to buy Saint-Gobain´s stake after "a minimum of four years." If successfully negotiated and approved by all authorities, the deal would close in 2007. Chuck Dana, current president of Owens Corning´s composite solutions business, has been designated CEO of Owens Corning-Vetrotex Reinforcements.