Wichita Falls plant earns award for marketplace ethics

April 12, 2006 - PPG’s Wichita Falls, Texas, flat glass plant won the “Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics” sponsored by the Wichita Falls Council of Better Business Bureaus.

Entries for the special recognition were judged “based on adherence to high ideals and integrity, improvement in the quality of life for employees and surrounding communities, customer satisfaction, industry leadership, serving as a role model, and support in establishing a fair and honorable marketplace,” according to Monica Horton, president of the BBB of Wichita Falls. The plant earned the award in the “large company” category for businesses with more than 100 employees.

“I’m proud of our plant, our employees and our corporation. The recognition is well deserved and appreciated,” said Plant Manager Susan Plies (in photo at right with the Torch Award). “Virtually everything we do is led by ethics, values and integrity. Ethics isn’t simply a program here. It’s been a way of business and life at our plant for more than 30 years and at PPG for 123 years. It’s who we are.”

The plant’s entry revolved around management practices; customer, vendor, supplier and shareholder relations; marketing, advertising, communications and sales practices; and the plant’s reputation within the surrounding communities as well as the glass industry.

The Wichita Falls plant (also referred to as Works No. 4), manufactures architectural float, tempered and coated glass. It began operations in 1974 and currently employs about 400 people.

Wichita Falls plant profile:

Work is being completed to install an estimated $40 million magnetic sputtered vacuum deposition (MSVD) system at the plant. The system will expand the plant’s capacity to meet growing demand for low-emissivity glass and accommodate future generations of energy-efficient, high-performance products.
It is one of six PPG plants in North America dedicated to the manufacture of flat glass.
The Wichita Falls plant has the capacity to produce more than 350,000 tons of glass annually using the float-glass manufacturing method on dual production lines. The plant ships more than 300 truckloads of glass to customers each week.
Most glass produced at Wichita Falls is used in the residential, automotive and commercial markets.
“Works 4 is an extremely versatile plant,” Plies said. “In addition to clear glass, we produce a variety of colors, including all of the spectrally selective glasses in the Oceans of Color collection: Azuria, Caribia, Atlantica and Solexia. Solarbronze, Solargray and Graylite tinted glasses are also produced at Wichita Falls. Each of these tints can be coated with a pyrolytic and can now be offered with an MSVD coating.”
The plant has the capability to temper all of its products. The tempering process increases glass strength and improves its safety characteristics if breakage occurs.

Atlantica, Azuria, Caribia, Graylite, Solarbronze, Solargray and Solexia are trademarks of PPG Industries.