Fresno glass plant now owned by Mexican company

FRESNO

October 3, 2016 9:02am

•  PPG sells it to Vitro in larger deal

•  Not expected to impact Fresno plant’s employment

It’s been calling itself PPG Industries Inc. (NYSE: PPG) for years, derived from its original name, Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company. Now, plate glass is history at PPG, including its glass-making plant in Fresno.

PPG says it has completed the sale of its flat glass manufacturing and glass coatings operations to Vitro S.A.B. de C.V., a producer of flat glass and specialty products based in San Pedro Garza García, Mexico, for about $750 million.

The sale includes PPG’s entire flat glass manufacturing and glass coatings operations, including production sites located in Fresno as well as in Salem, Oregon; Carlisle, Pennsylvania; and Wichita Falls, Texas; four distribution/fabrication facilities located across Canada; and a research-and-development center located in Harmar, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh.

Employment in the Fresno operation, where 150 people hold jobs, is not expected to change, a spokesman says.

The business manufactures glass that is fabricated into products used primarily in commercial and residential construction.

With the sale, the only “glass” still part of PPG is fiber glass, according to a company spokesman. Approximately 98 percent of PPG’s business portfolio is focused on paints, coatings and specialty materials, he says.

“The company’s Flat Glass Division has become a key business for Vitro, and this investment will allow us to strengthen it by offering a wider set of solutions to our customers,” says Adrian Sada, chief executive officer of Vitro. “Through this investment, we will create value for our shareholders and our new flat glass business will reassert its standing as the leader in the commercial glass segment in North America.”

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