Roofing Glass Mat Price Increase

Roofing Glass Mat Price Increase

(Bad Homburg, July 28, 2003) – Today Johns Manville Europe announced a 5% price increase for their roofing glass mat materials sold to the Russian Federation, Belarus, and Ukraine effective August 1, 2003. Dr. Enno Henze, European Business Manager Roofing Materials, commented: “Since the end of 2002, Johns Manville has been confronted with rapidly increasing costs for raw materials, energy, and transportation. Additional cost increases in the transportation segment are still ahead of us. The new truck toll for Germany effective September 1, will lead to a further increase of road transportation cost. Intensive productivity and cost cutting programs enabled us to slow down the increase of operating costs significantly, but could not absorb it completely. Now the remaining cost increases need to be passed on to the Marketplace.”

Johns Manville, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is a leading manufacturer and marketer of premium-quality building and industrial products. In business since 1858, the Denver, USA-based company has sales in excess of $2 billion and holds leadership positions in all of the key markets that it serves. Johns Manville employs approximately 9,000 people and operates 43 manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe and Asia.

The Engineered Products Group (EPG), one of Johns Manville‘s four strategic business units, produces glass fibers, glass fiber nonwoven, polyester spunbond, meltblown and glass fiber fabrics at 14 manufacturing locations worldwide: Spartanburg, SC, Waterville, OH, Richland, MS and Etowah,TN, USA; Berlin, Bobingen, Karlstein, Steinach and Wertheim, Germany; St. Helens, UK, Oskarstrom and Helsingborg, Sweden; Trnava, Slovakia and Shanghai, China. Additional information can be found at www.jm.com.