PPG to make SOLARPHIRE PV glass at Fresno plant

PPG becomes only West Coast manufacturer of low-iron glass for solar industry

PITTSBURGH, Feb. 1, 2012 – PPG Industries’ (NYSE:PPG) flat glass business announced that it will expand production capability at its Fresno, Calif., plant to accommodate the manufacture of SOLARPHIRE(R) PV glass, an ultra-low-iron glass used to make components for the solar power industry.

Richard A. Beuke, PPG vice president, flat glass, said the production of Solarphire PV glass at the Fresno Works will make PPG the first and only manufacturer of low-iron glass on the West Coast and dramatically enhance the company’s ability to serve the region’s burgeoning solar power market.

“For decades, PPG has been the industry leader in low-iron glass technology,” Beuke said. “With demand for these products growing in California and the southwestern U.S., the ability to meet the delivery and service requirements of our West Coast customers has become a critical priority. The new capability at the Fresno plant is planned specifically to help address their needs.”

Scott Follett, global director, PPG Solar Performance Group, said the primary benefit of making Solarphire PV glass in Fresno will be reduced delivery times. “Unless customers have special orders, PPG should be able to make next-day deliveries throughout California and the southwest,” he said. “Shipping Solarphire PV glass from the East Coast, as we do now, usually takes three to four days. Going forward, we will have greater flexibility to meet customers’ inventory and production requirements.”

Follett said the new capability will enable PPG to expedite shipments to customers in Asia as well.

Beuke said that while no new jobs will be associated with expanded production at the Fresno plant, it will benefit existing employees. “The addition of the solar business will enable the plant to generate more tonnage, so we expect to have fewer production slowdowns that lead to layoffs.”

Solarphire PV glass is an ultra-low-iron glass that features high transmittance across the entire solar spectrum and a proprietary glass chemistry that increases solar transmittance in the near-infrared band. In thicknesses of up to 3.2 millimeters, Solarphire PV glass transmits up to 91 percent of total solar energy. The glass also is available with anti-reflective and corrosion-retardant coatings to satisfy component manufacturers’ performance requirements.

For more about Solarphire PV glass and the rest of PPG’s advanced glasses and coatings for the solar power industry, visit www.ppgsolarphire.com or call 1-888-PPG-SUN1 (774-7886).

PPG: BRINGING INNOVATION TO THE SURFACE.(TM)
PPG Industries' vision is to continue to be the world’s leading coatings and specialty products company. Through leadership in innovation, sustainability and color, PPG helps customers in industrial, transportation, consumer products, and construction markets and aftermarkets to enhance more surfaces in more ways than does any other company. Founded in 1883, PPG has global headquarters in Pittsburgh and operates in more than 60 countries around the world. Sales in 2011 were $14.9 billion. PPG shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol:PPG). For more information, visit www.ppg.com.
 
Bringing innovation to the surface is a trademark and Solarphire is a registered trademark of PPG Industries Ohio, Inc.