Florida's PGT Industries Breaks Ground on New Glass Plant

VENICE, Fla., Jan. 9, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PGT Industries (Nasdaq:PGTI), the nation's leading supplier of residential impact-resistant windows and doors, broke ground on a new $15 million glass operations plant on Thursday, January 9, 2014. The 96,000 square foot facility will allow PGT to expand its current glass cutting, tempering and laminating processes and more effectively control the quality of glass being used in its products.

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While the facility will initially be used for glass processing, PGT anticipates that the additional space may house manufacturing and other operations determined by future market demand.

"This tells such a great story about our region's economic recovery. Seven years ago, we would have never thought this could happen," said Rod Hershberger, president and CEO of PGT Industries. "We were shutting down plants and suffering through the housing recession. Now we are thrilled to be thriving and growing, creating jobs, exporting product, and bringing more jobs to the state of Florida," he said.

The new plant will be located at the corner of Knight's Trail and Triple Diamond Boulevard, a short distance from the company's main campus in Venice.

Venice Mayor John Holic was present for the groundbreaking ceremony. "The city of Venice is proud to have you here," said Holic. "PGT is a company dedicated to this community with a 99% on time delivery record. They not only know about quality and customer service, they live it. We almost lost you once, and we don't want it to happen again; we are here to help in every way possible," said Holic.

PGT has commissioned two local Sarasota companies for the development and construction of the new plant, Hall Architects and Willis A. Smith Construction, Inc. as general contractor.

As one of the largest employers in the region, the company has already begun hiring for additional positions at the new facility and estimates that 50 to 60 new jobs will be created by the time operations begin, not to mention construction jobs during the build out process. "This is a wonderful story about economic development and about a great company who made the choice to grow here," said David Sessions, president and CEO of Willis Smith Construction. "There will be 50-60 people working here every day to build the plant plus an additional 50-60 working off site," he said.

Construction on the facility is expected to be complete in late 2014.

PGT® pioneered the U.S. impact-resistant window and door industry and today is the nation's leading manufacturer and supplier of residential impact-resistant windows and doors. Founded in 1980, the company employs approximately 1,500 at its manufacturing, glass laminating and tempering plants in Florida. Utilizing the latest designs and technology, PGT products are ideal for new construction and replacement projects serving the residential, commercial, high-rise and institutional markets. PGT's product line includes a variety of aluminum and vinyl windows and doors. Product brands include WinGuard ®; SpectraGuard(TM); PremierVue®; PGT Architectural Systems; and Eze-Breeze®. PGT Industries is a wholly owned subsidiary of PGT, Inc. (Nasdaq:PGTI).