Owens Corning (World HQ: Fiberglass Tower, Toledo, OH 43659, USA) has expanded its presence in Europe with the acquisition of Polypan Nord SpA (Str. Settimo 399/11, I-10154 Torino), a manufacturer of extruded polystyrene foam insulation products. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The business will be renamed Owens Corning Polypan and will become part of Owens Corning's Building Materials Europe and Africa division.

The acquisition fits with Owens Corning's strategy to expand in Europe and be a global supplier of building materials and systems, and follows a number of other substantial purchases in recent years. In June 1994 it purchased Pilkington PLC's insulation manufacturing and distribution operations in the UK. In May 1996 it bought the OC Polyfoam foam insulation business from Linpac Group which gave it plants in the UK and Spain (see Plasteurope.com 12, 1996). With this acquisition, Owens Corning now has four foam insulation plants in North America, three in Europe and one under construction in China.

In September 1996, Owens Corning also acquired a majority interest in Acoustical Fibreglass Insulation (Mnfg) (Pty) Ltd., South Africa's largest manufacturer of glass fibre reinforcements and glass fibre and rock wool insulations. Sales for the group for 1996 were USD 3.8bn.