USA History

Owens Corning Cultured Stone® products originated in 1962 when brothers Garrett and Floyd Brown of Vallejo, California saw the need for a new kind of building material. The entrepreneurial pair of plasterers developed manufactured stone veneer: exact replicas of natural stones used for building, cast in flexible molds and hand coloured with iron oxide pigments. Made of lightweight aggregate materials, the veneers were approximately one-quarter the weight of full-thickness stone and could be adhered to most wall surfaces.

The Browns' small, regional company began selling to dealers in northern California, but grew quickly as it added new products with broader geographic appeal. Soon Cultured Stone® products were distributed throughout the United States and Canada. Increased sales eventually established Cultured Stone® as the undisputed brand leader and preferred name in the manufactured stone products industry.

Today, the trademark CSV® (Cultured Stone® Veneer) stamp still appears on each and every piece of stone to guarantee customers they are getting the original: a proven and preferred brand they can trust and take pride in. The CSV stamp provides not only proof of authenticity, but a sense of security to customers who demand the best.

Cultured Stone® manufactured stone veneers meet AC-51 criteria, the strictest requirements in the industry. Owens Corning is a world leader in building materials systems and composite solutions. A Fortune 500 company for more than 50 years, Owens Corning's people redefine what is possible each day to deliver high-quality products and services ranging from insulation, roofing, siding and manufactured stone veneer, to glass composite materials used in transportation, electronic, telecommunications and other high-performance applications.

Since the company's founding in 1938, Owens Corning has become a market-leading innovator of glass fiber technology with sales of $6.3 billion in 2005 and 20,000 employees in 25 countries.