Owens Corning Key Player in GM Truck Program
19 August 1999
Owens Corning Key Player in GM Truck Program
TOLEDO, Ohio, Aug. 18 -- Owens Corning announced
today its integral participation with General Motors (GM) in the GM
composite pickup truck box program.
Announced Thursday, August 5, by GM, the truck box is made of advanced
composite materials and can withstand brutal punishment like no other product
currently offered in the marketplace. Owens Corning pioneered the robot-
directed fiber preform technology that GM, Cambridge Industries and Owens
Corning have advanced for the inner box/endgate manufacturing process.
Originally developed as the Programmable Powdered Preform Process (P4),
the technology was introduced by Owens Corning in 1993 and most recently has
been installed in the National Composites Center in Kettering, Ohio.
The pickup truck box is the first high-volume commercial application of a
new generation of the preform technology, and the largest automotive part made
to date using a preform.
For the new technology, the Owens Corning Science and Technology
organization developed OC(TM) Preformable System, which combines a proprietary
glass fiber with unique binder technology to enable efficient manufacturing of
reinforcement preforms. OC(TM) Preformable System is essential to the
preforming program's success due to the fact that it overcomes limitations of
materials previously used in the process.
Preforming is a method of composite manufacturing that uses pre-shaped
fiber reinforcements that are combined with resin during molding.
Reinforcements in the preform are configured to replicate the shape of the
finished part. Cambridge Industries, GM's lead supplier, will produce the
molded inner box and endgate assembly in Huntington, Ind., as large one-piece
molded components.
"Our work with Cambridge and GM enabled us to tailor our technology and
glass to help make a better product for the truck buyer," said Heinz Otto,
president, Owens Corning Composites Systems Business. "It is an example of
how our System Thinking(TM) approach allows us to extend the value we bring to
all customers from the molder to the carmaker to the final consumer."
"At one point, we saw that the program might get canceled due to
limitations in the types of process materials currently available," Otto
continued. "But, we knew that the opportunity was too great to let go because
of the material shortcomings. Our scientists worked on the problem and
invented a glass fiber product that fits the specific application needs so
that the program could move forward."
The new Owens Corning glass fiber is a major technological breakthrough
helping to make this entire preform-molded technology commercial. These
molded parts not only reduce the total weight of the vehicle by more than
50 pounds, but the tailgate itself is 15 pounds lighter than a current steel
tailgate, which makes it easier to open and close.
"Pickup truck cargo boxes are frequently subject to a great deal of wear
and tear," said Dr. Lawrence D. Burns, vice president of GM R&D and Planning.
"GM's box offers customers unparalleled ruggedness and long-term durability --
where customers need it most. This is an entire unit made of durable
composite materials."
To make sure the composite pickup box would exceed expectations and
survive the punishment of hard-working truck customers, GM installed 48 units
on Chevy C/K pickup trucks and put them to use for more than a million miles
in some of the most severe operating environments in North America. The
result was a pickup box that, according to General Motors, can withstand
brutal punishment like no other in the market. The new composite box will be
an option on the 2001 model Chevrolet 1500 Series 4WD Extended Cab Silverado,
available in the fall of 2000.
Otto added that this program is truly a fantastic example of Owens
Corning's intimate knowledge of the OEMs and our partnership with Tier 1
suppliers.
"I'm proud to know that our tradition of automotive innovations continues
though this alliance," Otto said.
Owens Corning is a world leader in building materials and glass fiber
composites systems. The company had 1998 sales of $5 billion and employs
approximately 20,000 worldwide. For more information, please visit Owens
Corning's Web site at http://www.owenscorning.com .