inc. or owens illinois . owens corning type public traded as nyse oc industry general building materials composites founded toledo ohio 1938 headquarters toledo ohio usa key people michael h. thaman chairman of the board and chief executive officer products insulating systems composite solutions roofing and asphalt other building materials and services revenue us 05.3 billion 2014 operating income 346 million 2014 net income 226 million 2014 total assets 7.55 billion 2014 total equity 3.69 billion 2014 number of employees 15 000 website www.owenscorning.com owens corning is a global company that develops and produces insulation roofing and fiberglass composites . 1 it was formed in 1935 as a partnership between two major american glassworks corning glass works and owens illinois . the company employs approximately 15 000 people around the world . 2 3 owens corning has been a fortune 500 company every year since the list was created in 1955 . 3 4 contents 1 history 1.1 1935 1980 1.2 1981 present 2 products 3 environmental work 4 references 5 external links history edit 1935 1980 edit owens corning fiberglass company was formed in 1935 through the merger of owens illinois and corning glass works . 5 6 it became a separate company in 1938 with its headquarters established in toledo ohio . 3 7 in 1938 the company sales reached 2.6 million . 8 the company held its initial public offering on the new york stock exchange in 1952 . 9 in 1955 owens corning purchased land for a research and testing facility near granville ohio . 8 also in 1955 owens corning made the first fortune 500 company list . the company has been on the fortune 500 list every year since its creation . 3 4 in 1965 owens corning fiberglas europe was formed . in 1966 owens corning established a partnership with armstrong rubber co. to produce fiberglass reinforced automobile tires . by 1971 owens corning s annual revenue was over 500 million . in 1974 the company opened a temporary plant to produce insulation for the trans alaska pipeline system . in 1977 owens corning acquired frye roofing and began production of fiberglass mat to replace traditional paper mat used in roofing . 10 owens corning sales surpassed 1 billion in 1976 and sales were over 2 billion by 1979 . in 1978 two shipyard workers filed a class action lawsuit against which alleged that owens corning and 14 other manufacturers had known about asbestos containing products . 11 owens corning began using the united artists cartoon character pink panther in its pink fiberglas insulation marketing in 1979 . 8 1981 present edit owens corning headquarters in 1985 owens corning acquired aerospace and strategic metals group in newport beach california for 415 million from armco inc. 12 13 the color pink was trademarked through owens corning in 1986 making it the first company to trademark a color . by 1990 owens corning was the defendant in about 84 500 asbestos related lawsuits . citation needed the company opened an asia pacific division in 1993 . 14 in may 1994 owens corning acquired uc industries which produced foamular polystyrene insulation as a wholly owned subsidiary . 15 in 1996 the company changed its name to owens corning . n may 1997 owens corning acquired fibreboard corporation a vinyl siding and other industrial material manufacturer 16 which became a wholly owned subsidiary of owens corning . 8 the company was ordered to pay 5 million to an asbestos victim in 1997 making it the highest jury verdict in the history of the united states for a single non malignant asbestos case . 17 in 1999 a jury in federal district court in florida awarded 1.8 million compensatory damages and 31 million punitive damages against the company for asbestos products . 18 the company filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2000 . in 2002 owens corning removed its shares from the new york stock exchange . in 2006 the company was listed on the new york stock exchange again under ticker oc . in 2007 owens corning announced a joint venture with saint gobain named ocv reinforcements . owens corning partnered with dupont in 2011 to create a steel and foam energy reduction safer barrier around auto racetracks . 8 in july 2015 the company announced it would be moving a manufacturing center for mineral wool insulation into an empty plant west of joplin missouri . 2 19 products edit in 1939 the u.s. navy bureau of ships made owens corning insulation standard in new warship construction . warship insulation called navy board was a permanent form board insulation covered with woven continuous fiber cloth . owens corning produced a prototype boat hull constructed of fiber glass reinforced plastic in 1944 . 8 in 1945 the company worked with an automaker to produce the first fiberglass reinforced plastic car body . in 1953 general motors used this type of body in the chevrolet corvette . 14 in 1954 the company invented a process to make centrifugally spun fiberglass wool which became the standard process for producing fiberglass insulation . in 1955 owens corning introduced its perma ply roofing material for built up room insulation covering . the company created its first all fiber af fiberglass wool in 1956 . to distinguish its product the company dyed their insulation pink by adding red dye to the af wool . 8 20 after the january 27 1967 apollo 1 fire which killed three astronauts nasa worked with owens corning and du pont to develop beta cloth a fireproof cloth of woven fiberglass coated with teflon as a replacement for the nylon outer layer of the apollo skylab a7l space suit . 21 22 23 environmental work edit in the kansas city metropolitan area owens corning purchases locally sourced recycled glass from ripple glass to manufacture fiberglass insulation in its local manufacturing plant . the joint effort between owens corning and ripple glass is helping to greatly reduce the amount of glass that would have been deposited in local kansas city landfills . 24 the owens corning roofing and asphalt shingle recycling program was launched in 2009 to keep shingles out of landfills . 25 in 2013 constellation energy built a 2.7 megawatt solar power system at an owens corning insulation plant in delmar new york . the power system which is leased to owens corning can produce 3.3 million kilowatt hours of electrical energy in a year . 26 27 the national safety council awarded owens corning the green cross for safety medal in 2014 . 28 owens corning received a perfect score of 100 percent on the 2015 corporate equality index released by the human rights campaign . 29 owens corning has been recognized on the dow jones sustainability world index for six consecutive years as of 2015 . 30 references edit glenn collins 12 november 1994 . europe s insulation market is target of owens corning . the new york times . retrieved 19 october 2015 . a b redden susan 10 july 2015 . governor local officials welcome owens corning division to joplin . the joplin globe . retrieved 19 october 2015 . a b c d linkhorn tyrel 27 october 2013 . a marriage of two companies owens corning celebrates 75th anniversary . the blade . retrieved 19 october 2015 . a b 1955 full list . fortune . retrieved 19 october 2015 . the great depression pdf . toledo library . retrieved 19 october 2015 . keller michael e. 1998 . the graham legacy graham paige to 1932 . turner publishing company . access date requires url help fiber glass premiere feb 1938 . modern mechanix . february 1938 . a b c d e f g owens corning company timeline . toledo blade . 26 october 2013 . retrieved 19 october 2015 . once a crucible of new companies toledo is ready to have ipos again . toledo blade . 28 march 2000 . retrieved 19 october 2015 . environmental impact pdf . rtd fasttracks . retrieved 19 october 2015 . owens corning fiberglas corporation . asbestos.com . the mesothelioma center . retrieved 6 march 2016 . orange county . los angeles times . 27 september 1985 . retrieved 19 october 2015 . horovitz bruce 17 august 1985 . owens corning agrees to buy armco group . los angeles times . retrieved 19 october 2015 . a b international directory of company histories vol . 20 . st. james press . 1998 . sarkis lisa 31 july 1995 . uc industries boots foamular capacity . plastics news . retrieved 19 october 2015 . owens corning and fibreboard corporation announce merger agreement ; owens corning to acquire fibreboard shares for 55.00 per share . pr newswire . 28 may 1997 . retrieved 10 july 2016 . fakler john t. 28 november 2005 . law firm adds partners changes name . south florida business journal . retrieved 19 october 2015 . owens corning fiberglas corporation petitioner v. deward ballard respondent . . supreme court of florida . 26 august 1999 . retrieved 19 october 2015 . owens corning plans 90 million manufacturing complex in joplin missouri . area development . 10 july 2015 . retrieved 19 october 2015 . harris taylor marlene 26 october 2013 . pink panther color carry considerable value in owens corning marketing efforts . toledo blade . retrieved 19 october 2015 . space.com everyday tech from space fiberglass fibers for fabric roofs extreme textiles designing for high performance crew patch reference guide environmental leader 2009 owens corning roofing and asphalt shingle recycling program approaches milestone . roofing contractor . 2 october 2013 . retrieved 19 october 2015 . how owens corning is taking big steps to reduce its environmental footprint . business insider . 8 july 2014 . retrieved 19 october 2015 . constellation completes solar project for owens corning . baltimore business journal . 15 october 2013 . retrieved 19 october 2015 . national safety council honors owens corning with the 2014 green cross for safety medal pdf . national safety council . 11 april 2014 . retrieved 19 october 2015 . corporate equality index 2015 pdf . human rights campaign foundation . retrieved 19 october 2015 . owens corning placed on djsi world for sixth straight year . global insulation . 11 september 2015 . retrieved 19 october 2015 . external links edit official website v t e glass makers and brands contemporary companies anchor hocking arc international ardagh group armashield asahi aurora glass foundry aventas group baccarat berengo studio blenko glass company bodum bormioli rocco borosil caithness glass cox & barnard corning dartington crystal daum edinburgh crystal effetre international fanavid fenton art glass company firozabad glass industry flabeg franz mayer fuyao glass industry group co. ltd. glava glaverbel guardian industries hadeland hardman & co. hario heaton butler and bayne holmegaard glassworks holophane hoya kingdom of crystal kokomo opalescent glass works kosta glasbruk libbey owens ford liuli gongfang lzos iittala luoyang johns manville mats jonasson m ler s moser glass mosser glass nippon sheet glass ohara orrefors osram owens corning owens illinois pa abah e pauly & c. compagnia venezia murano phu phong pilkington ppg industries preciosa riedel royal leerdam crystal saint gobain saint louis i ecam schonbek schott sterlite optical technologies steuben swarovski tyrone crystal val saint lambert verrerie of brehat waterford watts & co. world kitchen xinyi glass zwiesel historic companies bakewell glass belmont glass company boston and sandwich glass company brockway glass carr lowrey glass company cambridge glass chance brothers clayton and bell dugan glass company duncan & miller dunbar glass fostoria glass company general glass industries gus crystal alexander gibbs gr nvik glasbruk hartford city glass company hazel atlas heisey hemingray glass company j. h. hobbs brockunier and company knox glass bottle company lavers barraud and westlake manufacture royale de glaces de miroirs millersburg glass company morris & co. nachtmann northwood glass company novelty glass company old dominion glass company james powell and sons ravenhead