Glass fibre specialist Owens Corning (Toledo, Ohio / USA; www.owenscorning.com) has entered a strategic cooperation and supply agreement with China’s Chongqing Polycomp International (CPIC, Chongqing; http://en.cpicfiber.com) to jointly invest in a new production facility for high-modulus glass fibre products in the People’s Republic. The pact covers the US company’s technology, construction and a plant to be operated by CPIC at Chongqing.

Projected to go on stream in mid-2019, the unit would include a glass furnace with production capacity of 110,000 t/y. While working together to enhance quality and efficiency in manufacturing, the US and Chinese firms stressed that they will maintain independent commercial operations and market the products through separate commercial channels.

Owens Corning has a fibre manufacturing facility in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, west of Shanghai, with a capacity of approximately 80,000 t/y. Along with Jushi (Tongxiang, Zhejiang; www.jushi.com), CPIC is one of the two major Chinese exporters to the European market. The company operates plants worldwide, with a total capacity of around 600,000 t/y.