47 Years of Flat Glass Excellence
Vitro’s glass manufacturing plant in Carlisle, PA, produces flat glass for use in residential and commercial construction and in the specialty and automotive glass markets. The plant is focused on producing clear glass, Starphire Ultra-Clear® and AcuityTM low-iron glass, as well as Solarban® solar control and Sungate® passive low-e glasses. Carlisle is also where Vitro’s insulating glass units, featuring the Intercept® Spacer System are manufactured for use by residential window manufacturers.
Nestled in the countryside of central Pennsylvania, the Carlisle facility is one of seven plants that Vitro operates focused on flat glass for the architectural and building products sector (other Vitro glass plants create products for the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries). The plant features two furnace lines, two coating lines and a tempering line and ships their products to customers around the world.
While the plant began operation in 1972, today it features a wide array of modernized and updated components and equipment. One such example is a high-tech defect detection system, which can spot any inconsistencies or other issues that would affect the quality of the glass with great accuracy. This is a key component that is now widely used across Vitro’s fleet to ensure that glass that leaves the plants is the high quality that architects, glazing contractors and building owners expect.
Vitro Carlisle is a proud, active member of the community and provides local support in many areas. Vitro employees participate on numerous non-profit Boards, including the United Way-Carlisle & Cumberland, the Carlisle Area Chamber of Commerce, Carlisle C.A.R.E.S., Safe Harbour and Project SHARE. Carlisle employees have donated over $250,000 to the United Way over the past 20 years through payroll deduction and participate every year in its Day of Caring. During the last three holiday seasons, Carlisle employees took a step further and held drives to gather toys, clothes and toiletries for Perry County Kids, Carlisle C.A.R.E.S. and Claremont Nursing & Rehabilitation Center.
Vitro Carlisle is focused on achieving success through sustainable environmental programs. Over the past five years, the recycling program at the Carlisle plant improved and expanded to double the number of items collected and recycled. This, combined with improvements in reducing and reusing materials, has reduced the plant's amount of residual waste sent to landfills by 48 percent over the last five years. Similar efforts in water conservation have reduced offsite discharge by over 40 percent, with additional plans to achieve over 80 percent reduction.
