US glass fibre producer Johns Manville (JM, Denver, Colorado; www.jm.com) has touted plans to rebuild and upgrade its e-glass furnace in Trnava / Slovakia. Claimed to be the largest and most productive facility of its kind within the EU, the modernised furnace is due to start up in Q4 this year. Once the upgraded facility is commissioned, JM will be more flexible when it comes to supplying its clientele with its “ThermoFlow” grades or “StarRov” LFT 490 family, the company said, adding that the furnace’s central location in Slovakia will enable it to service its European customers within one to four days.

The decision to upgrade the facility is set against the backdrop of renewed growth rates in the composites industry, driving demand for glass fibre products, Enno Henze, senior vice president and general manager of JM’s Engineered Products Europe/Asia division said. He added that, “JM's commitment to growing the composites industry and to investment in the European region is based on the expectation that the EU will put in place effective measures against the dumping and anti-competitive subsidies of Chinese glass fibre producers, which is not a sustainable model.”

When announcing the investment in Trnava – details of which were not disclosed – JM also introduced a new range of “Evalith” hybrid nonwovens for decorative thermoplastic applications. Made of glass and synthetic fibres, the material is said to improve the surface quality of sandwich structures like honeycombs. Evalith is said to offer excellent thermo-formability, while simultaneously enhancing mechanical performance, making it particularly suitable as a skin material for reinforced thermoplastics, JM said.