nyse ppg s & p 500 component industry chemicals founded 1883 ; 133 years ago 1883 creighton pennsylvania u.s. founder john baptiste ford john pitcairn jr. headquarters pittsburgh pennsylvania u.s. area served worldwide key people michael h. mcgarry chairman & ceo products coatings fiberglass plate glass services manufacturing revenue us 15.1 billion 2013 operating income us 1.5 billion 2013 net income us 1.0 billion 2013 total assets us 15.9 billion 2013 total equity us 4.9 billion 2013 number of employees 42 600 2013 website www.ppg.com ppg industries is an american fortune 500 company and global supplier of paints coatings specialty materials chemicals glass and fiberglass . with headquarters in pittsburgh pennsylvania ppg operates in more than 70 countries around the globe . by revenue it is the largest coatings company in the world . 1 it is headquartered in ppg place an office and retail complex in downtown pittsburgh and is known for its glass facade designed by philip johnson . contents 1 history 1.1 founding and 20th century 1.2 20th century 1.3 21st century 2 environmental record 3 in sports 4 gallery 5 see also 6 references 7 external links history edit founding and 20th century edit this section needs expansion . you can help by adding to it . september 2015 pittsburgh plate glass company plaque in the plaza at ppg place pittsburgh plate glass company was founded in 1883 by captain john baptiste ford and john pitcairn jr. at creighton pennsylvania . based in creighton pennsylvania about 20 miles north of pittsburgh along the allegheny river ppg soon became the united states first commercially successful producer of high quality thick flat glass using the plate process . ppg was also the world s first plate glass plant to power its furnaces with locally produced natural gas an innovation which rapidly stimulated widespread industrial use of the cleaner burning fuel . 2 ppg expanded quickly . by 1900 known as the glass trust it included 10 plants had a 65 percent share of the u.s. plate glass market and had become the nation s second largest producer of paint . 3 today known as ppg industries the company is a multibillion dollar fortune 500 corporation with 150 manufacturing locations around the world . it now produces coatings glass fiberglass and chemicals . 2 pitcairn served as a director of ppg from its start its president from 1897 to 1905 and chairman of the board from 1894 until his death . 4 20th century edit on 19 december 1968 the company changed its name to ppg industries inc. to show its diverse offerings . ditzler color company established in 1902 in detroit as an automotive color concern was purchased by pittsburgh plate glass company now ppg in 1928 . in the mid 1980s cipisa a spanish paint company was acquired and renamed ppg ib rica . the ceo of cipisa pere nadal carres became ceo of ppg ib rica . citation needed in 1990 ppg founded transitions optical as a joint venture with essilor . 5 21st century edit in october 2000 ppg industries announced it had agreed to buy courtaulds aerospace for 512.5 million . 6 based in glendale california the aerospace business has annual sales of approximately us240 million employs 1 200 people . it manufactures sealants in glendale california us and shildon england ; coatings and sealants in mojave california us ; glazing sealants at gloucester city new jersey us ; and coatings at gonfreville france . the business also operates 14 application support centres in north america europe africa asia and australia . in 2007 the company was involved in a lawsuit on failing to disclose a purchase reduction of its two major auto glass customers . 7 on 2 january 2008 ppg acquired the sigmakalon group of companies for 3.2 billion from private investment firm bain capital strongly increasing its paint and specialty coatings business . 8 in 2008 ppg renamed their automotive glass division pgw pittsburgh glass works and sold a majority of it to kohlberg & company . ppg retained 40 % ownership of pgw until march 2016 when they sold their stake to automotive parts salvage company lkq 9 in april 2013 ppg completed the acquisition of akzonobel north american architectural coatings business including glidden liquid nails and flood brands . 10 2013 revenue was us 15.1 billion while assets were us 15.9 billion . citation needed on april 1 2014 ppg finalized the sale of transitions optical to its joint venture partner essilor international of france however ppg s technical center in monroeville will continue to provide research and development services for transitions . 11 12 on november 5 2014 ppg closed a deal to purchase mexican consorcio comex s.a. de c.v. comex for 2.3 billion 13 in april 2015 ppg industries completed the acquisition of revocoat a global supplier of sealants . citation needed chuck bunch remains executive chairman while michael mcgarry serves as president & ceo . in july 2016 ppg announced its sale of the flat glass business to vitro a glass manufacturer based in mexico for 750 million . 14 in october 2016 pittsburgh post gazette announced the acquisition of the naming rights to consol energy center by ppg ; the facility will be known as ppg paints arena . 15 environmental record edit remediation at canal crossing jersey city . in november 2010 ppg agreed to remove 700 000 tons of toxic waste from canal crossing a brownfield site in jersey city new jersey where the company operated a chromium processing plant between 1954 and 1963 . 16 17 18 19 stringent standards were agreed to in a federal court settlement . 20 lime lake reclamation project of ppg industries in barberton ohio received special awards in the national beneficial use of biosolids program from environmental protection agency s epa region 5 in 1998 . citation needed in sports edit ppg has been involved in sports for numerous years including being the primary and associate sponsor in the nascar sprint cup series for paul menard at the dover international speedway . 21 on october 4th 2016 it was announced that the consol energy center would be giving up its naming rights and transferred to ppg making the arena named the ppg paints arena . 22 gallery edit see also edit pittsburgh portal columbia southern chemical corporation dimetcote self cleaning glass transitions lenses a joint venture since 1990 . references edit http www.coatingsworld.com heaps view 1788 1 a b 125 anniversary . ppg industries . 2008 . retrieved nov 10 2008 . garrett jeff aug 1 2006 . our local heritage tarentum area glass companies . alle kinski today online . retrieved nov 10 2008 . ingham john m. 1983 . biographical dictionary of american leaders . greenwood publishing group . pp. 1101 1102 . isbn 0 313 21362 3 . gannon joyce january 15 2013 . ppg essilor may make transition pittsburgh post gazette . pittsburgh post gazette . ppg to acquire former courtaulds aerospace business from akzo nobel . pcimag.com . retrieved 13 november 2015 . gannon joyce january 4 2008 . retired exec returns to ppg auto glass unit . pittsburgh post gazette . retrieved jul 18 2013 . ppg completes acquisition of sigmakalon group . reuters . january 2 2008 . https www.zacks.com stock news 209144 ppg industries ppg to sell minority interest in pgw ppg completes acquisition of akzonobel north american architectural coatings business april 1 2012 gannon joyce april 1 2014 . ppg finalizes sale of transitions optical for 1.73 billion pittsburgh post gazette . pittsburgh post gazette . http www.ppg.com optical opticalproducts pages default.aspx ppg completes acquisition of comex november 5 2014 http www.reuters.com article us vitro ppg iduskcn1011v3 http www.post gazette.com business pittsburgh company news 2016 10 04 ppg to seek naming rights to consol energy center pittsburgh stories 201610040140 mcdonald terrence t. march 6 2011 . more than 50 000 tons of soil removed from chromium site in jersey city . the jersey journal frohling john b. april 15 2009 . morris canal associates proposed settlement agreement between ppg and the city of jersey city pdf . www.state.nj.us frohling assoc llc . murray brian t. june 12 2009 . n.j. delays decision on setting stricter limits on carcinogen chromium . the star ledger arrue karina l. october 21 2010 . jersey city is only new jersey recipient of 2.3 million in federal grant money to fund planning for 7 000 unit development on 111 acre wasteland currently being cleaned of toxins . jersey journal . retrieved 2011 04 03 navarro miyera april 5 2011 . better cleanup planned at former chrome plant . the new york times . retrieved 2011 04 06 dover international speedway day 1 photos and images getty images . www.gettyimages.com . retrieved 2016 10 04 . ppg to acquire naming rights to consol energy center . retrieved 2016 10 04 . external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to ppg industries . official website ppg automotive refinish ppg automotive oem coatings pittsburgh glass works ppg aerospace v t e pittsburgh corporations within the pittsburgh metro area fortune 500 headquarters u.s. steel pnc financial services ppg industries kraft heinz mylan wesco international consol energy dick s sporting goods allegheny technologies forbes largest private companies headquarters 84 lumber giant eagle other corporation headquarters american bridge american eagle outfitters ampco pittsburgh ansys armstrong communications atlas america bruster s ice cream calgon carbon chemadvisor college prowler compunetix dollar bank dqe energy eat n park edmc eqt energy federated investors gnc guru.com highmark h. laughlin china igate ii vi incorporated iron city brewing company kennametal koppers marc usa millcraft industries mine safety appliances niche.com oxford development ptc alliance rue21 university of pittsburgh medical center vocelli pizza wabtec companies with split headquarters alcoa modcloth nova chemicals subsidiary company headquarters allegheny energy bayer usa fedex ground glaxosmithkline usa lanxess respironics vivisimo westinghouse electric company outside companies with strong pittsburgh relations bny mellon formerly mellon financial dreyfus corporation eaton corporation spreadshirt macy s list of corporations in pittsburgh v t e glass makers and brands contemporary companies anchor hocking arc international ardagh group armashield asahi aurora glass foundry aventas group baccarat berengo studio blenko glass company bodum bormioli rocco borosil caithness glass cox & barnard corning dartington crystal daum edinburgh crystal effetre international fanavid fenton art glass company firozabad glass industry flabeg franz mayer fuyao glass industry group co. ltd. glava glaverbel guardian industries hadeland hardman & co. hario heaton butler and bayne holmegaard glassworks holophane hoya kingdom of crystal kokomo opalescent glass works kosta glasbruk libbey owens ford liuli gongfang lzos iittala luoyang johns manville mats jonasson m ler s moser glass mosser glass nippon sheet glass ohara orrefors osram owens corning owens illinois pa abah e pauly & c. compagnia venezia murano phu phong pilkington ppg industries preciosa riedel royal leerdam crystal saint gobain saint louis i ecam schonbek schott sterlite optical technologies steuben swarovski tyrone crystal val saint lambert verrerie of brehat waterford watts & co. world kitchen xinyi glass zwiesel historic companies bakewell glass belmont glass company boston and sandwich glass company brockway glass carr lowrey glass company cambridge glass chance brothers clayton and bell dugan glass company duncan & miller dunbar glass fostoria glass company general glass industries gus crystal alexander gibbs gr nvik glasbruk hartford city glass company hazel atlas heisey hemingray glass company j. h. hobbs brockunier and company knox glass bottle company lavers barraud and westlake manufacture royale de glaces de miroirs millersburg glass company morris & co. nachtmann northwood glass company novelty glass company old dominion glass company james powell and sons ravenhead glass the root glass company seneca glass company shrigley and hunt sneath glass company venini & c. ward and hughes westmoreland glass company wheaton industries whitall tatum company white glass company worshipful company glassmakers a. h. heisey alastair pilkington antonio neri dante marioni edward d. libbey frederick carder friedrich henry clay fry henry crimmel henry william stiegel irving