Inventors, Employees Honored At Owens Corning Science And Technology Gala

At N/A's (Toledo, OH) seventh annual Science and Technology Gala last night, the company honored inventors and other employees who used technology to generate annual cost savings of more than $14 million, and additional revenue in excess of $5 million in 1999. Most of the 65 individuals who were honored are from the Science and Technology organization, while others represent manufacturing and marketing. Two individuals were recognized for honors received outside the company, six for special patent achievements, and 57 for work on teams that developed new or improved products, or improved manufacturing processes and application techniques.

RHOAD Technology Platform
Outside Recognition
Technical Recognition
Patent Awards

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RHOAD Technology Platform (Back to Top)
The company recognized components of the its new RHOAD technology platform for fiberglass insulation, the company's most productive and lowest cost technical platform for manufacturing fiberglass insulation. Components include the best fiberizing, production controls, glass melting capability, and forming technology.

According to Glen Hiner, Owens Corning chairman and CEO, the savings attributed to the new technology platform alone will exceed $12 million in 1999. In addition, Hiner noted that "a new refractory process cut the downtime associated with rebuilding our glass-melting furnaces and enabled our manufacturing plants to produce an additional $5 million worth of glass fiber insulation for our customers, a very important achievement when demand is strong."

Outside Recognition (Back to Top)

• Merle McBride, research associate, received the Distinguished Service Award from the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-Conditioning Engineers.
  
• Gary Williams, global project leader, received the Award of Meritfrom the American Society of Testing and Materials.

Technical Recognition (Back to Top)

• Harry Alter and Ralph McGrath were recognized for the Acoustic Room System, a patented wall treatment system designed to improve the sound quality within a room.
  
• Mark Greenwood, Gerald Greaves, Gudmundur Palsson, and Lee Pearson were recognized for Composite Pipe Installation, improved techniques to enhance the product's competitiveness.
  
• Kathryn Brannon, Liang Chen, William Babbitt, Jeffrey Peck, William Downey, and Steven Williams were recognized for New Range Insulation, an improved product for kitchen ranges.
  
• Hong Peng, Leonard Adzima, Christopher Hawkins, Thomas Matteson, David Shipp, Ashish Diwanji, Eugene Galloway, Rick Matzeg, Phillip Stachnyk, David Stotler, Dominic DeAngelo, David Wamer, James Thomason, and Andrew Woodside were recognized for StaMax Long Fiber Thermoplastic Compound, which leverages the use of proprietary rovings to provide significant additional strength in semi-structural composite parts.
  
• Wei Li and Kenneth Burger were recognized for Insulation Quality System, including process improvements to reduce variation and improve product consistency.
  
• David Chaddon, Carla Miller, John Phillips, Viktoria Vella, James Belt, Karen Codiano, Isaac DeSouza, DuVaughn Mahabee, James White and Jose Velazquez were recognized for Laminated Shingle Redesign, a project to enhance the appearance of premium, laminated shingles.
  
• George Baybutt, Nigel Nock, and John Whittle were recognized for New Binder System, developed to enhance productivity and reduce plant emissions.
  
• Rodrick Cook, Stephen Cowap, and Michael Pettis were recognized for New Refractory Technology, a breakthrough for rebuilding glass-melting furnaces that improves productivity by getting them back in service quickly.
  
• Thomas Hess, Harry Adams, Lawrence Ploetz, Timothy Powers, Iain James, James Hill, David Baker, Lennart Lindberg, Robert Anderson, James Hayward, Jean Gardin, Gregory Boschert, and Manoj Choudhary were recognized for Oxy Fuel Furnace Technology, a process improvement that enhances productivity by reducing emissions, reducing energy costs, enabling the recycling of dramatically more scrap material and extending furnace life.

Patent Awards (Back to Top)

• Bronze Patent Awards (15 patents) were given to David Aschenbeck, research associate, senior technical staff, Roofing Systems Business; Ronald Houpt, product forming lab leader, Insulation Systems Business; Larry Huey, senior research associate, Advanced Glassfiber Yarns joint venture; and Michael Pellegrin, research associate, Insulation Systems Business.
  
• Silver Patent Awards (20 patents) were presented to David Lin, technical leader, Asia Pacific; and Donn Vermilion, research associate, senior technical staff, Roofing Systems Business.

Owens Corning is a manufacturer of glass fiber and composite materials. The company makes fiberglass insulation, piping and roofing materials, asphalt, specialty foams, windows, patio doors, vinyl siding, and yarns.

For more information, call K. Hamilton of Owens Corning at 419-248-6190.