Owens Corning Introduces New High-Performance Continuous Filament Mat for Marine Industry

PARIS, 30 March, 2004 — Reinforcing its commitment to supply a steady stream of composite technology solutions to the global marine industry, Owens Corning today introduced OC® Continuous Filament Mat (CFM) 8635, a new glass-fiber, non-woven product for use in infusion molding. Manufactured from Owens Corning’s Advantex® glass, it is the only CFM product specifically tailored to this process, providing customers with up to 25 percent faster infusion versus other CFM products, and an all-glass reinforcement system for molders concerned about using organic materials in below waterline applications.

“With OC CFM 8635 mat, we’re helping customers achieve levels of productivity and reduced cycle times never before possible,” said Owens Corning Marine Market Manager Matt Dunn. “We’re especially excited to be introducing a product designed for the closed-molded process, which is key for the marine market as manufacturers look for ways to replace at least a portion of their open-mold systems to meet pending environmental standards such as MACT.”

In addition to rapidly infusing, CFM 8635 mat:

• Allows for the production of larger high-reinforcement structural parts due to faster curing time

• Enables designers to create products in a way similar to open molding, so engineers don’t need to “relearn” how to design with closed molding

• Provides compatibility with unsaturated polyester and polyurethane resin systems

• Offers excellent multi-directional mechanical properties, including superior flexural modulus and strength compared to other infusion media, due to randomly oriented filaments

• Resists washing out in molding operations through thermoset binding technology

• Conforms well to final part dimensions and is available in a broad range of weights and widths, as well as in customized options based on customer needs

In addition to OC CFM 8635 mat, all of Owens Corning’s marine product offerings are available in Advantex glass fiber reinforcements. Introduced in January 1997, Advantex glass combines the electrical and mechanical properties of traditional E glass with the corrosion resistance of E-CR glass. Advantex glass fiber reinforcements are also compatible with all of the most widely used resin systems. Processability and production characteristics of Advantex glass are comparable to traditional E glass and E-CR glass formulations, and because the material uses a common technology platform, customers can specify the same product anywhere in the world.