General Glass Industries was a
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
-based wholly owned subsidiary of General Glass International. Also known as "GGI", this company manufactured sheet glass from 1988 until 1993 using the
Fourcault process
The Fourcault process is a method of manufacturing plate glass. First developed in Belgium by (1862–1919) during the early 1900s, the process was used globally. Fourcault is an example of a "vertical draw" process, in that the glass is drawn ...
. GGI also produced cut sheet and window glass from flat glass produced by other manufacturers. The site of GGI was located in
Jeannette, Pennsylvania, which is located east of Pittsburgh, PA. GGI was one of the largest single employers in Jeannette and was one of the last of the "major" glass plants to operate in the "Glass City". According to local rumors the "Window House" as it was known, was once the largest producer of window glass in the world.
History
Production ceased in July 1993 at the end of the ''campaign'', or expected life of a
glass furnace
A glass melting furnace is designed to melt raw materials into glass.
Depending on the intended use, there are various designs of glass melting furnaces available. They use different power sources. These sources are mainly fossil fueled or by fu ...
before it requires a rebuild or overhaul. After that time the parent company, General Glass International, weighed its options before electing to liquidate operations to pursue initiatives in other locations.
The site was purchased by the Westmoreland Industrial Development Corporation. It is now called Jeannette Industrial Park, and is part of the Westmoreland County Industrial Parks. After some demolition and remediation operations, it now hosts a variety of businesses.
The parent company of GGI, General Glass International, continues to market flat glass products to this day.
See also
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Parent company
A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...
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Manufacturer
Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a ran ...
External links
General Glass InternationalJeannette Industrial Park
{{Portalbar, Companies
Glassmaking companies of the United States
Defunct glassmaking companies
Manufacturing companies based in Pennsylvania
Manufacturing companies established in 1988
Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1993
1988 establishments in Pennsylvania
1993 disestablishments in Pennsylvania
Defunct manufacturing companies based in Pennsylvania
Companies based in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
History of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania