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Mexican Company Plans To “Break The Glass” In US

(Photo courtesy of Vitro Glass)
Vitro is based in Monterrey, Mexico.

A major Mexican glass manufacturer plans to expand into the U.S. and Canada through a $750-million acquisition of an old U.S. company. 

Vitro, based in Mexico and one of the world’s largest glass manufacturers, is acquiring the flat glass business from a major Pittsburgh corporation— PPG. Flat glass is used primarily in construction material, such as windows and panels.

Vitro is based in Monterrey, Mexico, and started operations in 1909. PPG was founded in 1883 as Pittsburgh Plate Glass in Pittsburgh.

The sale is expected to close by the end of 2016, and PPG will receive approximately $750-million.

On the other hand, Vitro will acquire PPG’s production sites—located in California, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Texas— a research-and-development center in Pennsylvania, and four facilities in Canada.

"This investment will strengthen our construction glass business, as it will allow us to participate in the U.S. and Canadian markets and in the segment of high performance glass coatings, in which we have no significant presence,” said Vitro CEO Adrián Sada.

Michael H. McGarry, PPG’s President and CEO, said, "This transaction represents the end of an historic era for PPG as a manufacturer of flat glass."
McGarry said that the transaction will be a big step in the transformation of PPG, which will focus on paints, coatings and specialty materials.

Approximately 1,200 workers are currently hired in PPG’s flat glass division.

For Sada, the combination of teams from both companies will result in a business with greater growth potential for Vitro.

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Rodrigo Cervantes was KJZZ’s bureau chief in Mexico City from 2016 to 2021.