Owens Corning plant in Brunswick will close
Owens Corning officials said location is the primary reason the company, which makes insulation and composites, is closing its Brunswick plant.
The plant’s machinery will be moved to Texas and 60 employees will lose their jobs when the factory at 43 Bibber Parkway begins to shut down at the end of the December, a company spokesman told the Portland Press Herald. The plant is expected to be fully closed within a year.
Spokesman Todd Romain said the company, which makes fiberglass fabrics for the wind power industry, wants to be closer to its customers. The Brunswick plant’s employees won’t be given the opportunity to relocate when the plant closes, he said.
The company has 17,000 employees in 33 countries, according to its website. It will also close plants in Doudian, China, and Mexico City, with 300 employees between the two, the Bangor Daily News reported.
The Brunswick plant began as Brunswick Technologies inc. in 1984. Employees were told that the plant was closing at a meeting on Monday.
“This will enable our business to operate more efficiently and support the competitive supply of glass products to our customers, who are geographically more closely located with production within the region nearer to Wichita Falls,” Romain told the Portland Press Herald. “To be clear, the decision to cease production in Brunswick is in no way a reflection on the efforts and quality of our workforce, which have been outstanding.”
Steve Von Vogt, executive director of the Maine Composites Alliance, told the Press Herald that wind turbines are primarily manufactured in Texas and Iowa, but that Maine also has a market for experienced composites workers.
Owens Corning (NYSE: OC) is based in Toledo, Ohio, and operates in three divisions: Composites, insulation and roofing. In 2016, it had $5.67 billion in sales.
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