In 1883 Captain John B. Ford and John Pitcairn founded the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company (PPG), a reincorporation of the New York City Plate Glass Company that the two men began in 1880. The first factory was built in Creighton, Pa., in 1883, and its corporate headquarters was established in Pittsburgh in 1895. John Pitcairn began diversifying the firm soon after assuming the presidency, and in 1920 PPG consolidated its subsidiary companies under sole corporate ownership, and reorganized Columbia Chemical Co. and Patton Paint Co. into separate chemical and paint divisions within the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company. PPG expanded into the booming automobile business by producing windshields, manufactured high-volumes of sheet glass for windows in suburban homes, and developed new lacquers and paints for both. During World War II, PPG factories were converted to military production, fabricating laminated aircraft carrier glass, pilot enclosures, and gun turrets. The Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company officially changed its name to PPG industries, Inc., in 1968, signifying the firms commitment to a diverse business model. Furthermore, with the development of float glass in 1973, an affordable and quality alternative to plate glass, PPG began phasing out is production of plate glass. Today, Pittsburgh-based PPG is a global supplier of paints, coatings, optical products, specialty materials, chemicals, glass, and fiber glass. The company has more than 140 manufacturing facilities and operates in more than 60 countries.
From the description of PPG Industries Inc. ledgers and photographs 1883-1981 [manuscript] (Historical Society of W Pennsylvania). WorldCat record id: 769139739
