Owens Corning Names Andrew Hopkins Acting General Manager of OC™ Automotive

Toledo, Ohio, January 09, 2002 - Owens Corning announced today that Dr. Andrew Hopkins has been named acting general manager of the company’s automotive business.

OC™ Automotive is part of Owens Corning’s Composite Solutions Business, which has approximately $ 1.4 billion in annual sales and accounts for nearly 25 percent of the company’s annual sales.

“The Composite Solutions Business is focused on leveraging the synergies of our people, technologies and growth agendas to provide more value-added systems and solutions to our global customer base,” said Dick Lantz, president of Owens Corning’s Composite Systems Business. “Our Automotive business is committed to increasing the market share of composites per vehicle in a manner that generates value for the automotive customer and Owens Corning,” Lantz added. “I am confident in Andy’s ability to lead this critical growth business for our company.”

In this role, Dr. Hopkins will focus on providing innovative composites solutions to the worldwide automotive industry to accelerate growth for Owens Corning. Owens Corning’s Automotive business is one of the company’s most significant growth initiatives in the past 60 years, with sales of approximately $ 200 million in 2000. The company expects this number to double to $ 400 million by 2004.

Current offerings within OC™ Automotive include the Silentex™ noise control system; OC™ Preformable System; and StaMax® composites, a joint venture with DSM Automotive Polymers.

“I am excited to have the opportunity to lead such an exciting and innovative new growth segment within the Composite Solutions Business,” said Dr. Hopkins. ”OC Automotive is committed to meeting the needs of leading automotive OEMs by providing solutions in the form of materials, parts and design and engineering services, all of which will be tailored to fit the needs of each individual customer.”

Dr. Hopkins joined Owens Corning in 1998 as Business Manager, Integrated Solutions. Upon the formation of the StaMax joint venture in 1999, Dr. Hopkins was appointed General Manager with responsibility to the StaMax board for all operations of the company. In February 2001, Dr. Hopkins was named Director of Automotive Operations for Owens Corning Automotive Solutions.