Guardian Industries chooses Winnsboro, S.C. facility for new fiberglass plant - $39 million investment will create 135 new jobs

Guardian will retrofit the plant and plans to begin manufacturing fiberglass insulation in the spring of 2007. The plant will be operated by Guardian Fiberglass Inc., a subsidiary of Guardian Building Products Inc.

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford joined state and local officials and company executives to make the announcement.

"Our administration is committed to making the business climate more attractive for companies to create opportunity and raise income levels for South Carolinians," said Gov. Sanford. "We're working to accelerate the pace of growth in our economy by targeting companies that diversify our economy and generate investment and jobs for our state."

Guardian Building Products Inc. is one of the largest building products distribution networks in the United States, and through one of its subsidiaries, Guardian Fiberglass Inc. manufacturers a complete line of light density fiberglass building insulation products for the construction markets in Canada and the United States. The Winnsboro facility will be Guardian's sixth fiberglass insulation manufacturing plant and its third South Carolina facility. The Building Products Group headquarters is in Greenville and Guardian's glass division operates a float glass plant in Richburg, S.C.

"The assistance we received from economic development officials across the state was tremendous," said Peter S. Walters, group vice president, Guardian Industries Corp. "We have a long and mutually beneficial relationship with the state of South Carolina. We're excited to be furthering our growth in South Carolina, and we look forward to becoming part of the Winnsboro community."

"We're pleased that Guardian Industries has once again chosen South Carolina to expand its growing Building Products division," said Secretary of Commerce Bob Faith. "With the continued growth in the residential and commercial construction sectors, we're glad that they recognized the great tools we have in South Carolina for them to get their new business unit up and running quickly."

Based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, Guardian Industries Corp. is a leading worldwide manufacturer of float glass and fabricated glass products for the commercial and residential construction industries. Guardian Automotive provides exterior systems to the global automotive industry and is a Tier 1 global automotive supplier. Guardian, its subsidiaries and affiliates employ 19,000 people and operate facilities throughout North America, Europe, South America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.