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There’s an old saying that advises, “Be careful what you ask for.”
When Owens Corning asked how it could help Bulk Molding
Compounds, Inc. grow its business, the company didn’t anticipate
the response would be a suggestion that the two go into business
together. But that’s what happened and the result is a joint
venture now focused on growing the market for bulk molding
compound (BMC).
“I asked Owens Corning if they would be interested in forming a
joint venture utilizing the assets of the former molding division of
Rogers Engineering Corporation that we had purchased in 2005,”
said Fran Zappitelli, Executive Vice President of BMCI. “We wanted
to turn it into something we could use to expand the market for
applications using thermoset composite bulk-molding compound.”
Owens Corning was quick to respond to the offer and negotiations
between the two companies literally were put on a “fast track.”
Discussions began in April 2006 and the venture, FastTrak
Applications Development, LLC, was launched in June, a mere three
months later. The new company is based in Addison, Ill., near BMCI’s
West Chicago headquarters, and currently employs 135 people.
FastTrak’s mission is to accelerate the organic growth of the
thermoset composite market. By operating the joint venture as
a full-scale applications development center, BMCI and Owens
Corning have combined resources to provide the innovation and
critical mass necessary to help speed the development and use of
BMC as a material of choice against aluminum, steel and wood.
“I want customers to see FastTrak as a ‘one-stop shop,’” said
Zappitelli, who is also the venture’s chairman. “We can provide
customers with everything from initial part design to prototyping
and even production if they desire.”
One of the first tasks for the new business was to get a better
understanding of the market’s perception of BMC and why more
applications weren’t being specified or made with the material.
“Both companies felt that BMC was an underutilized material, given
its performance benefits such as lighter weight, improved strength,
design and manufacturing flexibility and most importantly, reduced
cost,” said John Giacalone, Business Manager, Owens Corning, “so
we conducted research to find out why.
“We found that the market should be – and could be – much
larger than it is today,” he continued. “BMC has a perception
issue among specifiers and engineers,” he explained. “One of the
reasons is that the marketplace has traditionally consisted of several
small businesses without much marketing muscle to promote the
material’s benefits.”
“One of the fundamental goals of FastTrak is to show the engineering
and specifying communities that the cost/benefit performance of BMC
provides the best bang for the buck,” said Zappitelli.
“The engineering community in general is not well versed in BMC
as a material and that is particularly true of engineers just out of
school,” added Mark Bieberstein, FastTrak’s general manager. “They
are not familiar with how the material has evolved or the process
advancements made over the past few years.”
The partners anticipate growth rates of 5 to 10 percent a
year. “We’re committed to growing and developing the use of
composites in the marketplace, and by pooling our strengths to
drive applications in the BMC market, we help grow applications in
the entire industry,” said Jeff Boersma, Vice President and Managing
Director of the North American Composite Solutions Business.
Contacts:
John Giacalone, Business Manager
Owens Corning Composite Solutions Business,
1.630.548.5647 and john.giacalone@owenscorning.com
Fran Zappitelli, Executive Vice President,
BMCI
1.630.377.1065 and zapp@bulkmolding.com |
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发表于 2007-1-26 13:05:43