New Owens Corning® PINK Next Gen™ Fiberglas™ Redefines Insulation

LESLIE:  Adding insulation to your home has long been one of the most cost-effective and smartest energy-saving improvements. But fiberglass is often thought to be itchy and hard to work with.

TOM: Well, now there’s a new generation of fiberglass insulation that is easy to handle and as soft as cotton, making this project far simpler to get done by both pros and DIYers. Trey McNamee is the marketing leader for residential insulation at Owens Corning and joins us to talk about the new Owens Corning PINK Next Gen Fiberglas Insulation.

Welcome, Trey.

TREY: Hi. Thank you. Thanks for having me on.

TOM: So I love the way you introduced us, as members of the media, to this product because you sent us a box with a square of this stuff. And you were like, “Just reach in and feel it. It doesn’t feel anything like fiberglass insulation.” And I never would’ve guessed that was what the material was. You’ve made a lot of changes in the way fiberglass insulation is made, as a result of this, right?

TREY: Yeah, absolutely. We are actually referring to it as visibly different. Because even professionals, that have been working with this day in and day out for years, see it and they recognize a difference in it. Then when they touch it or a homeowner touches it, it’s very different than the traditional fiberglass that they’ve maybe been used to or their previous generation was used to. So it’s really visibly and to the touch different.

LESLIE: So does that make it better or easier to install? Because, you know, when you’re dealing with batts, it’s like they’re hard to maneuver and they’ve all over the place.

TREY: So, yeah. Actually, Leslie, there are two main benefits in this space. Particularly the comfort, which we’ve been discussing, and that’s because the product is now soft as cotton. So, maybe what people had perceived as the cons of fiberglass, we’ve really addressed that.

The other part is the product actually fully recovers. And because of that, it’s easier to cut and it completely fills the cavity, making it faster to install, as well.

TOM: So when you say fully recovers, I know what you mean but just kind of explain what that means to the average DIYer. When you work with fiberglass, and especially when you need to get it around pipes and wires, you tend to squish it a little bit, right? I’m going to use the simple terms now. We squish it. And then it de-squishes itself when it fully recovers back to its original shape? Is that what we’re talking about?

TREY: Yes, that’s right. So, insulation, to get it to full insulating power, has to fully recover to the intended thickness and fill the cavity. So sometimes you do – you squish around pipes or wires or you split it. But our product is going to recover fully in that cavity and fill it, so you’re getting the full intended insulating power and not a fraction of it, like potentially other products that don’t fully recover to fill the space.

LESLIE: Now, I know so many people are thinking about being environmentally-conscious and making green decisions when it comes to their home. So, how are you guys meeting that with the PINK Next Gen Insulation?

TREY: Yeah, absolutely. When we created PINK Next Gen Fiberglas, we thought of everything. And our product is very simple. It’s made of safe, proven ingredients. In fact, it’s only glass fiber binder with no formaldehyde and then a little color for that iconic pink color. So, it’s really – it’s just a very safe product in itself. But then from a sustainability standpoint, we have the industry’s highest recycled content, with over a billion pounds of recycled glass used every year.

TOM: Wow. That’s pretty cool. And did I read that it’s also made with 100-percent wind-powered energy? That’s really unique.

TREY: Yeah, absolutely. It’s the only product in the industry that has that claim.

LESLIE: Well, that’s really fantastic. I mean it’s well done, for sure.

TOM: So what’s the reaction been from pros that – especially the pros that work with this stuff every single day? Have they been just amazed at the change?

TREY: Absolutely. We’ve been doing field trials now for about a year. And I can tell you that the contractors that we’ve let try some early batches of this don’t want to touch any other material on the market. They’re demanding this stuff and it’s really great to hear this feedback. And the fact that we’ve solved real problems in our industry where, on the professional side, there’s a shortage of labor. And by using our product, they’re able to get more work done and save labor.

TOM: The product is called Owens Corning PINK Next Gen Fiberglas Insulation. You can learn more about it at PINKNextGen.com. That’s PINKNextGen.com.

Trey McNamee, thank you so much for stopping by The Money Pit. And congratulations on a really innovative new product from Owens Corning.

TREY: Great. Thanks for having me.