World Leader in Building Materials and Composite Systems
Saves Millions on Purchased Goods and Services
PITTSBURGH, March 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Owens Corning (NYSE: OWC), a world
leader in building materials systems and composites systems, today announced
savings averaging 10% on strategic purchases conducted through the FreeMarkets
online auction marketplace. Owens Corning has been a client of FreeMarkets,
Inc. (Nasdaq: FMKT), the world's leading online auction marketplace, since
1999. Using the FreeMarkets online auction marketplace, Owens Corning has
saved millions on the purchase of goods and services including transportation,
steel, loose fill and bulk bags, construction materials and services, and
control panels.
"The FreeMarkets online auction marketplace has been highly successful and
applicable to a wide range of our strategic goods and services purchases,"
said Chuck Dana, vice president of global sourcing, Owens Corning.
"FreeMarkets' market making and bid technology have enabled us to achieve
significant savings on materials used in our products and supporting services,
including construction. FreeMarkets has been integral to our continuing
innovation in strategic purchasing."
"Owens Corning is a leader in the use of e-commerce for strategic
purchasing and a prime example of how the FreeMarkets online auction
marketplace is often initially used for custom products, then successfully
applied across a range of corporate spend categories. The end result is
tremendous savings and the creation of competitive markets for custom parts
and more standard services," said Glen Meakem, chairman and CEO of
FreeMarkets.
About Owens Corning
Owens Corning is a world leader in building materials systems and
composites systems. The company has sales of $5 billion and employs
approximately 20,000 people worldwide. For more information, please visit
Owens Corning's Web site at http://www.owenscorning.com.
About FreeMarkets
FreeMarkets is the world's leading business-to-business online auction
marketplace, with active markets for industrial parts, raw materials,
commodities and services. The Company created online auctions for over
$2.7 billion worth of purchase orders in 1999 and nearly $1.0 billion worth of
purchase orders in 1998. Since 1995, FreeMarkets has created online auctions
for products in more than 70 supply verticals, including injection molded
plastic parts, commercial machinings, metal fabrications, chemicals, printed
circuit boards, corrugated packaging and coal. More than 3,000 suppliers from
over 45 countries have participated in FreeMarkets auctions. FreeMarkets
provides access to its online auction marketplace to industrial buyers and
suppliers. The FreeMarkets marketplace includes proprietary online auction
technology, technical operations, industrial market making services, access to
a global database of suppliers and supplier research, call center support to
buyers and suppliers in over 30 languages, and marketplace rules. The
Company's current clients include United Technologies Corporation, The Quaker
Oats Company, Owens Corning, Eaton Corporation, Emerson Electric Company,
FirstEnergy Corp., SmithKline Beecham plc, Navistar International and Delphi
Automotive Systems Corporation. FreeMarkets can be found on the Web at
http://www.freemarkets.com. FreeMarkets is a registered trademark of FreeMarkets,
Inc.
Forward looking statements
Statements in this press release that are not historical facts, including
those statements that refer to FreeMarkets' plans, prospects, expectations,
strategies, intentions, hopes and beliefs, are forward-looking statements.
These forward-looking statements are based on information available to
FreeMarkets today, and FreeMarkets assumes no obligation to update these
statements as circumstances change. There are risks and uncertainties that
could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking
statements, including, without limitation, market acceptance of FreeMarkets'
online auction marketplace, the competitive nature of the market for
business-to-business online auction services, FreeMarkets' ability to retain
and increase revenue from existing clients and to execute agreements with new
clients, and FreeMarkets' ability to attract and retain qualified personnel.
These and other risk factors are described in detail in FreeMarkets'
prospectus dated December 9, 1999, which is included as part of its
Registration Statement on Form S-1, filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
CONTACT: Kimberly Booth of FreeMarkets, 412-297-8430, or
kbooth@freemarkets.com; or Bill Hamilton of Owens Corning,
419-248-6190, or bill.hamilton@owenscorning.com
SOURCE FreeMarkets, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.owenscorning.com
http://www.freemarkets.com
CONTACT:
Kimberly Booth of FreeMarkets, 412-297-8430,
or kbooth@freemarkets.com; or Bill Hamilton of Owens Corning,
419-248-6190, or bill.hamilton@owenscorning.com
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