Mar 21 2005
Builders know that the original is still the brand of choice, according to results of the just-released 2005 Brand Use Study by BUILDER magazine.
Owens Corning Cultured Stone® is the nation’s most recognized and most used manufactured stone veneer, and it’s selected by builders more than twice as often as the next closest competitor – a ranking repeated in study after study in other leading industry publications.
The survey, sponsored by Hanley Wood Publishing, LLC., sampled 3,991 selected residential builders from around the United States. For the sixth consecutive year, Owens Corning Cultured Stone® was rated highest in brand familiarity and is the brand used most. Also published by Hanley Wood, Custom Home, whose readers are among the nation’s leading luxury home builders, reported similar results in its 2005 Brand Use Study. Among builders who responded to the survey, Cultured Stone® led the pack in brand familiarity, usage and quality.
The Hanley Wood survey results come on the heels of a similar annual study by Reed Business Information, publishers of Professional Builder and Professional Remodeler magazines.
Released fall of 2004 Brand Leaders surveys again ranked Cultured Stone® the most preferred brand. Professional Builder readers said Cultured Stone® was the most well known (88 percent), the most used (74 percent) and the most preferred (59 percent) - 45 percent higher than the next closest brand. Cultured Stone® has been the highest rated brand of manufactured stone in this study every year it’s been published.
“We are honored that builders have once again said we’re the brand they use most,” said Scott Flowers, vice president and general manager, Owens Corning Cultured Stone®. “While we’re not resting on our laurels, builders’ confidence and satisfaction in our brand are driving our business forward. We will continue to provide builders and customers with the highest quality products, backed by Owens Corning, to help them sell more homes.”
To meet increasing builder demand, Owens Corning in October announced a $31 million initiative was underway to expand capacity for its Cultured Stone brand stone veneer by 70 percent by the end of 2005. Highlights include a $16 million expansion of the Chester, South Carolina, facility, which will double the plant’s production, $15 million in line and equipment upgrades in all three of the businesses’ facilities in Napa, Calif., Navarre, Ohio, and Chester. Owens Corning is a world leader in building materials systems and composites systems.
Founded in 1938, the company had sales of $5 billion in 2003.
Additional information is available on Owens Corning’s Web site at www.owenscorning.com or by calling the company’s toll-free general information line: 1-800-GETPINK.