Vitro Architectural Glass’ Glass Technology Center, located north of Pittsburgh, has conducted architectural glass research and development for more than 60 years. The company says it is the largest glass research and development facility in North America, with a staff of more than 60 technicians, engineers and scientists.
Vitro’s architectural glass business traces its roots to Pittsburgh Plate Glass, founded in 1883. Vitro acquired PPG’s flat glass business in 2016 and has since invested in its U.S. manufacturing operations and the technology center.
Since opening in 1958, the center has generated more than 1,100 patents, about half of them related to magnetron sputter vacuum deposition, the coating process used to make the company’s Solarban solar control, low-emissivity glass. Researchers develop an average of 30 patentable inventions each year, according to the company.
Technologies developed at the center include Solarban 70, a 17-layer, triple-silver low-e coating introduced in 2005 that is about 140 times thinner than a human hair. More recent developments include EcoArmor Protective Topcoat, a film-free glass protection technology. The center’s analytical laboratories can detect coating layers a few atoms thick and identify trace elements at concentrations below one part per million.
Vitro was among the first flat glass manufacturers to commercialize oxy-fuel melting technology in the 1990s. The company operates four oxy-fuel furnaces, which it says can reduce energy consumption by up to 20% and greenhouse gas emissions by up to 50% compared with conventional glass melting.
“Every day, our teams are exploring new ways to improve building performance, reduce environmental impact and expand the possibilities of architectural glass,” says Adam Polcyn, vice president of research and development at Vitro Architectural Glass.
Polcyn said the team remains focused on developing next-generation glazing as building performance standards and sustainability expectations evolve.
