PPG Industries' flat-glass business plans to upgrade a coater at its Salem, Ore., glass plant to enable the manufacture of the company's Solarphire anti-reflective (AR) glass and 2XAR two-sided AR glass.
According to Richard A. Beuke, PPG's vice president of flat glass, investment in the Salem factory – along with new production of ultra-high light-transmissive glass at PPG's Fresno, Calif., factory – is designed to meet the needs of the growing West Coast solar market.
‘With the new capabilities at Salem and Fresno, we can now produce Solarphire PV glass at Fresno then ship it to Salem for the addition of an anti-reflective coating,’ Beuke says. ‘That enables us not just to accelerate internal production, but to respond more quickly and with a broader range of products to solar industry customers throughout the western U.S.’
The Salem plant will be expanded, and workers will be added to accommodate increased production volume.
