8 January 1998: Pittsburgh-based PPG Industries announced in mid-December that it will close its Perry, Georgia, plant by 15 November 1998. PPG, which has been in Perry since 1989, makes three special…
8 January 1998: Pittsburgh-based PPG Industries announced in mid-December that it will close its Perry, Georgia, plant by 15 November 1998. PPG, which has been in Perry since 1989, makes three specialty glass products at the plant: starphire, an ultra-clear glass used in furniture and buildings; azurlite, a blue glass used in buildings; and solextra, a blue glass used in car windshields and light covers. Calling the move a “long-term business decision,” plant manager Henry Goode said the company will help its 170 employees find other jobs. By having several months to prepare for the plant closure, PPG officials have time “to work closely with all of our employees to find them jobs at other PPG locations elsewhere or out-placed here in Middle Georgia,” Goode said. Goode said company officials told Perry plant managers that the products made at the plant had a marginal market and the manufacturing process had costly technical problems. PPG has two other plants in Georgia – a coatings and resins plant in East Point and an automotive-glass parts assembly plant in Suwanee. Goode said prospects were good that Perry employees would find work at other PPG plants if they so desire. He said employees from the Perry plant could fit in at any of the company“s plants.