What Pittsburgh Glass Works makes

Pittsburgh Glass Works, LLC (PGW), which operates as Vitro Automotive Glass, designs and manufactures automotive glass for both original-equipment and replacement markets. Its OEM range covers laminated windshields, tempered sidelites and backlites, sunroofs, and encapsulated and assembled glass modules that ship to automakers ready to install. The company also runs a float glass plant in Meadville, Pennsylvania that feeds its downstream fabrication.

Several product lines carry PGW brand names. Sungate is an infrared-reflective coated glass that reduces solar heat load and eases air-conditioning demand. Safe & Sound is a laminated security glass the company says takes roughly ten times longer to penetrate than standard tempered windows. Weathermaster is an enhanced glass aimed at passenger comfort. PGW positions itself as an early-stage design partner to OEMs, doing tooling and application engineering out of its Automotive Technical Center in Rochester Hills, Michigan before a program reaches production.

The customer base is automotive first, spanning car and light-truck OEMs and the aftermarket replacement channel. As a direct glass supplier, PGW sits in the Tier 1 position on the programs it wins, with its own tooling and PPAP obligations to the automaker.

Ownership and history

PGW's glass lineage runs back to Pittsburgh Plate Glass, founded in 1883. The modern company was formed in 2008, when PPG Industries divested its automotive glass division and sold a majority stake to Kohlberg & Company, keeping the Pittsburgh Glass Works name. In 2016 LKQ Corporation acquired PGW, then sold the OEM automotive glass business to Vitro, S.A.B. de C.V. in a deal that closed in March 2017 for about $310 million.

Since 2017 the company has been a Vitro Glass Company, wholly owned by Vitro, a Mexican glass manufacturer listed on the Mexican stock exchange (BMV: VITRO A) with more than a century in glass. PGW keeps its headquarters at 30 Isabella Street in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and employs more than 4,500 people worldwide across manufacturing and distribution sites in the United States, Mexico, Europe, and Asia. Carlos Bernal has served as President of Vitro Automotive Glass since 2023.

Manufacturing footprint

The company operates a broad North American plant network. In the United States that includes windshield fabrication at Creighton, Pennsylvania, Evansville, Indiana, and Berea, Kentucky; tempered sidelite and backlite lines at Crestline, Ohio, Elkin, North Carolina, Evart, Michigan, and Tipton, Pennsylvania; the Meadville float glass plant; and distribution and parts-assembly sites in Chillicothe, Ohio and O'Fallon, Missouri. Design and sales run through the Rochester Hills, Michigan technical center. Outside the United States, PGW fabricates windshields at Sroda Slaska, Poland, at a plant with tempered and laminated capacity in Central Europe, and holds a Chinese windshield operation at Zibo, Shandong. A Mexican fabrication plant at Tepeji del Rio rounds out the North American manufacturing base.

Certifications and quality

As a direct OEM glass supplier to major automakers, PGW works to the automotive quality-management standard the sector requires, IATF 16949, and its replacement glass meets AMECA and comparable safety requirements per the company's materials. Glass safety products such as its Safe & Sound laminated line are marketed on penetration-resistance performance. Buyers evaluating a program should confirm current certificate scope and dates directly with the company, since the on-page claims are undated.

Known customers

Most OEM glass programs are undisclosed, which is normal for a Tier 1 supplier. Two relationships are on the public record.

Sourcing evidence

PGW's US import record reads like an automotive glass manufacturer's: 4,686 sea shipments logged since January 2015, still active with a shipment on September 21, 2026, averaging roughly 17 twenty-foot-equivalent containers per month. The declared goods are concentrated in laminated safety glass and windshields (HS 7007.21 and 8708.22), tempered glass (7007.19), and glass-module components. That is a glass-in, glass-and-modules-out pattern, consistent with domestic and near-shore fabrication rather than pure finished-goods resale.

The largest named foreign supplier is Xinyi Automobile Glass of Shenzhen, China, with about 1,628 shipments, followed by Chinese and European sources including Xinyi's Wuhu operation and Ningbo Haina Auto Parts for plastic glass-module clips and brackets. Two of the larger lines are internal: shipments from Pittsburgh Glass Works Poland (about 468) and from Vitrablok move within the Vitro group rather than from an arm's-length vendor, so the raw supplier count overstates the external base. The record also shows PGW importing under 17 different entity names tied to its Chillicothe, Crestline, and Evansville sites. Buyers weighing nearshoring and tariff exposure should note the meaningful China content in the incoming glass supply.

Coverage caveats: these are US ocean-freight records only. Air, truck, and rail movements, including most cross-border flows with the Mexican plant, do not appear; some records name freight intermediaries rather than manufacturers; and product categories come from declared manifest codes, which are noisy. Absence of a record is not evidence of absence.

Frequently asked questions

What does Pittsburgh Glass Works make?

Pittsburgh Glass Works, operating as Vitro Automotive Glass, makes automotive glass for original-equipment and replacement markets: windshields, tempered sidelites and backlites, sunroofs, and encapsulated glass modules, plus float glass. Branded products include Sungate solar-control coatings, Safe & Sound laminated security glass, and Weathermaster enhanced glass.

Who owns Pittsburgh Glass Works?

Pittsburgh Glass Works has been wholly owned by Vitro, S.A.B. de C.V. since March 2017, when Vitro acquired PGW's OEM automotive glass business for about $310 million. Vitro is a Mexican glass manufacturer listed on the Mexican stock exchange. PGW was formed in 2008 from a PPG Industries divestiture and traces its glass lineage to Pittsburgh Plate Glass, founded in 1883.

Where is Pittsburgh Glass Works headquartered?

Pittsburgh Glass Works is headquartered at 30 Isabella Street, Suite 500, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15212. It operates manufacturing and distribution sites across the United States, Mexico, Poland, and China, with an Automotive Technical Center in Rochester Hills, Michigan.

Who are Pittsburgh Glass Works's customers?

Most of PGW's OEM glass programs are undisclosed. On the public record, Vitro Automotive was named a 2026 Ford Supplier of the Year, and customs data shows a recurring service-parts lane with Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler. As a direct glass supplier, it serves car and light-truck automakers and the aftermarket replacement channel.

How many employees does Pittsburgh Glass Works have?

Pittsburgh Glass Works reports more than 4,500 employees worldwide across its manufacturing and distribution network. The company does not publish standalone financial results, since it reports as part of its parent, Vitro.

What certifications does Pittsburgh Glass Works hold?

As a direct OEM automotive glass supplier, PGW works to the sector's IATF 16949 quality standard, and its replacement glass meets AMECA and comparable safety requirements per the company's materials. Buyers should confirm current certificate scope and dates directly with the company.

Last verified September 28, 2026. Is this your company? Request a correction.