Johns Manville (JM), a manufacturer of glass fiber products, is expanding its glass fiber operations plant in Etowah, TN, to service the increasing needs of the engineered thermoplastics industry.
 
The North American composite market needs a strong and reliable supply of glass fibers to translate innovations into steady market growth. JM’s operations in North America are ideally located to reliably serve customers across the growing compounding base in the Midwest and Southeast, according to the company.
 
“The composites industry is growing steadily and we are convinced that current and future industry trends will continue to drive increasing demand for glass fiber products,” says Brian Sapp, global fibers business director for JM Engineered Products. “We are making this investment to support our customers’ plans for growth, and we will continue with innovations in technology and product development in fibers to support our customers.”
 
The planned expansion in Etowah includes a new furnace to support the launch of the next generation of global products for reinforced thermoplastic composites.
 
“We are confident this investment will continue to show JM’s commitment to this industry and to our customers,” Sapp says.
 
The new furnace, due to start up in mid-2016, will allow for production growth and flexibility within JM’s product families for polyamides, polyesters and polypropylenes that are used in automotive, electrical and consumer applications.