Products and Solutions

Glass Technologies and Products

PPG has a rich history of providing the Automotive, Residential, Commercial Construction and Aircraft industries with technically advanced glass products since 1883. Adding to the tradition of technical excellence, we at the Glass Technology Center continue to provide industry leading products and processes that others thought impossible.

In automotive glazing, our focus has been on enhancing occupant comfort and the driving experience. We are doing so by providing the industry with glazing systems that efficiently attenuate solar heat, perform a number of complex functions and are aesthetically appealing. In 1989, we introduced our Solextra® Glass, which was and still is the most efficient solar heat absorbing glass in the industry. In the same year, we introduced our Sungate® coated glass that pioneered the use of thin film technology in windshields. Again, this product has no parallel in the industry. Using this coating, we have developed an AM/FM antenna that was recognized as a major industrial innovation and received the coveted IR 100 Award.

The same glass composition and coating technology is used to provide architects with a full pallet of architectural glass colors and products that improve building energy efficiency and aesthetics. We overcame the challenges presented by the commercial construction industry in providing coated glass substrates with exceptional life and durability, such as Solarcool® Glass, Intercept® Insulating Glass Unit and most recently a low maintenance glass commercialized as SunClean® Glass for the residential market.

Since 1926 when PPG recorded its first aircraft glass sale for the Trimotor "Tin Goose", our focus is on providing products that meet the aviation industries requirements and perform trouble-free. PPG is the world's largest manufacturer of aircraft windshields, windows and canopies. As performance requirements for transparencies on commercial, business and military aircraft continue to evolve, PPG continues its process of continuous improvement of its Herculite® Glass, PPG 112 urethane interlayer, SolGard® protective coating and Aegis™ liner. During the 1990s, value-added products including Nesatron® coated glass for deicing and defogging plus water-repellent Surface Seal® coated glass were introduced.

We're not resting on our laurels. Today, we continue to provide outstanding value to our customers in the form of products with unique material properties and strong technical support. We do this by developing technologically advanced and innovative process solutions that allow the Glass Businesses of PPG to compete worldwide.

Innovations

PPG Glass Technology Center

In this era of business partnerships and dot com communication, we are ever vigilant to new ideas and leading edge technologies that can advance our product and process growth.

Ideas are the lifeblood of our company. Through the use of PPG's Internet site, ideas are entered by anyone, anywhere. They are deposited into an on-line database known as PPG's Idea Bank. From this depository, ideas are withdrawn for test drilling. This is where exploratory work is performed to determine feasibility of the idea. Once the idea is deemed to have potential, it moves to the Gatekeeper project development process.

Patents generated through the research and development process represent intellectual strength and are highly regarded as treasures for the researcher and PPG.

Focusing on important programs and bringing them to timely completion creates a stream of new revenue and growth for the company.

Through time coated products and unique glass compositions are demonstrating the additional value glass can provide. A history of innovate products are found in the following table.

Automotive Automotive Glass Sungate® Automotive Glass Sungate® Antenna Windshields Solar Color Series™ Glass Vision Glass Solextra® (blue) Glass Solargreen® Glass VistaGray™ glass Privacy Glass Solextra® (blue) Glass GL-20™ (gray) glass Optibronze™ glass Safe and Sound® Automotive Glass Glass Treatment – After Market Aquapel® Rain Repellent Glass Treatment Aircraft Herculite® Glass Herculite® II Glass Airphire™ Glass Nesatron® Coated Glass Aegis™ Liner SolGard® Protective Coating Surface Seal® Coated Glass

Architectural Clear Glass Sungate® 100 Low-E Glass Sungate® 300 Low-E Glass Sungate® 500 Low-E Glass Sungate® 1000 Low-E Glass Solarban® 60 Solar Control Low-E Glass Ultra-Clear Glass Starphire® Glass Tinted Glass Azurlite® (blue) Glass Solargreen® (emerald green) Glass Solex® Glass Solargray® Glass Solarban® 55 Solar Control Low-E Glass (gray) Optigray® Glass Graylite® (gray-black) Glass Solarbronze® Glass Reflective Tinted Glass Solarcool® Azurlite® Glass Solarcool® Gray Glass Solarcool® Graylite® Glass Solarcool® Bronze Glass Insulating Glass Twindow® Insulating Glass Weatherpane™ Glass Twindow® XI Insulating Glass Intercept® Insulating Glass Spacers Intercept® DSE Insulating Glass Unit