PPG will end production at the facility sold to Fuyao Glass America earlier this year.
PPG Industries’ flat glass business unit will cease production at the Mount Zion, Illinois facility in November, 2014. The plant was sold to Fuyao Glass America earlier this year, and while PPG had the option to operate the plant for up to one year as part of the sales agreement, the company opted to halt production due to projected six-month demand forecasts for the Mt. Zion products and the advanced age of the float line.
Effected products include Sungate 500 glass, Sungate 600 glass and SunClean glass, which will be discontinued. These products will be produced through November 30 of this year and inventoried at the Mt. Zion facility to supply customers through February 2015. Limited inventories of these products will also be available at other PPG facilities next year.
According to Mark Seeton, PPG director, sales and customer service, flat glass, the sale and ceasing of production at the Mt. Zion facility will have no impact on the supply of PPG’s line of Solarban low-E glass products, Sungate 400 low-E glass, Starphire ultra-clear glass, Clarvista shower glass, Solarcool and Vistacool reflective glasses, tinted and clear float glasses supplied by PPG facilities in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Wichita Falls, Texas, Fresno, California, or Salem, Oregon. Sungate 400 low-E glass, made by the MSVD sputter-coat process, may be an alternative product for customers desiring a third-surface passive low-E glass solution.
Seeton adds that PPG Flat Glass values its customer relationships and account managers will work with customers to develop a transition plan for the oncoming months and to address project-specific glass requirements.