Johns Manville

Johns Manville is a leading manufacturer and marketer of premium-quality insulation and commercial roofing, along with glass fibers and nonwovens for commercial, industrial and residential applications. Our history goes back to 1858, when the H.W. Johns Manufacturing Company began operations out of a tenement building in New York City.

Today, our products are used in a wide variety of industries including building products, aerospace, automotive and transportation, filtration, commercial interiors, waterproofing and wind energy. A proud member of the Berkshire Hathaway family of companies, we serve customers in more than 80 countries around the globe.

In business for more than 160 years, our commitment to our stakeholders is stronger than ever. We are dedicated to long-term partnerships with our customers and suppliers. We are passionate about providing a safe and equitable workplace for our 8,000 global employees. And we are committed to making a positive impact in the communities where we live and work.

Our goal is to live by our core values of People, Passion, Perform and Protect.

Our global headquarters is in Denver, Colorado. We also have 44 manufacturing facilities across North America and Europe. We continuously invest in our people and our infrastructure to anticipate employee, customer and community needs and provide long-lasting solutions. This approach gives us the strength we need to be the Employer of Choice and the Supplier of Choice in the markets we serve worldwide.

In 1858, 21-year-old Henry Ward Johns “set up shop” in the basement of his New York City tenement building. Using his wife’s new clothes wringer and a household tea kettle, he applied hot tar to cloth and created the company’s first roofing shingles. By 1868, he had moved operations out of the basement and was on his way to success with the award of his first patent for an asbestos product – the foundation for Johns Manville’s business for the next 100 years.

In 1886, Charles B. Manville and his three sons founded a pipe insulation company in Milwaukee called the Manville Covering Company. Manville soon became a selling agent for products made by Johns’ company. Fifteen years later, the two organizations merged and became the Johns-Manville Corporation (JM). Under the Manville family’s leader ship, the company's product line expanded to include sheet packaging for cylinders, brake linings, asbestos cement and acoustical products. Sales grew to $45 million and profits were in excess of $3.3 million before JM went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 1927.

In the decades that followed, the company continued to challenge itself with a focus on innovation and a refusal to be satisfied with the status quo. JM survived and even thrived through difficult times including the American Civil War, two world wars, the great depression and most significantly, the advent and demise of the “miracle mineral” – asbestos. The lessons learned from the asbestos odyssey helped foster the commitment to health and safety that we continue to live by today.
In 2001, JM became a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., which gave us a strong financial foundation and renewed our commitment to providing innovative solutions for our customers’ needs. In 2018, as we celebrate our 160th anniversary, we are focused on developing new products to reduce energy costs, improve indoor air quality, conserve energy and provide comfort. At our state-of-the-art research and development facility in Littleton, Colorado, our engineers and building scientists are leading the way – continually building on our leadership position in the sustainable building products industry. We are confident our most significant accomplishments are yet to come.

Our core values – People, Passion, Perform and Protect – are embedded in everything we do. These values not only guide the way in which we conduct business, but they also serve as the foundation for our everyday words and actions. We strive to deliver positive and powerful JM Experiences to everyone with whom we interact and hope to be the Employer of Choice and the Supplier of Choice.

WE ARE PEOPLE CHAMPIONS. Our employees and customers are at the core of everything we do. We strive to see the world through their eyes.

OUR PASSION IS IN GOING THE EXTRA MILE. We pursue fresh ideas and embrace new approaches to elevate how we work and deliver value.

WE PERFORM AT A SUPERIOR LEVEL. We are committed to delivering profitable growth and sustainable competitive advantage.

WE PROTECT TODAY TO ENSURE TOMORROW. Protecting our customers, employees, families, and the world around us is our responsibility.

Our core values – People, Passion, Perform and Protect – are embedded in everything we do. These values not only guide the way in which we conduct business, but they also serve as the foundation for our everyday words and actions. We strive to deliver positive and powerful JM Experiences to everyone with whom we interact and hope to be the Employer of Choice and the Supplier of Choice.

WE ARE PEOPLE CHAMPIONS. Our employees and customers are at the core of everything we do. We strive to see the world through their eyes.

OUR PASSION IS IN GOING THE EXTRA MILE. We pursue fresh ideas and embrace new approaches to elevate how we work and deliver value.

WE PERFORM AT A SUPERIOR LEVEL. We are committed to delivering profitable growth and sustainable competitive advantage.

WE PROTECT TODAY TO ENSURE TOMORROW. Protecting our customers, employees, families, and the world around us is our responsibility.