PPG Industries in Barberton

Attracted by available raw materials and railroad transportation, the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company built a plant here in 1899 to make soda ash for its glassmaking operations. The plant began production in 1900 as the Columbia Chemical Company and marked the beginning of PPG's diversified chemical manufacturing operations. During the 20th century, it operated the world's deepest limestone mine, at 2,200 feet, and manufactured commodity chemicals including chlorine, caustic soda, and calcium chloride. By 2000, specialty chemicals for the optical, pharmaceutical, printing, and rubber industries had superseded mining and commodity chemical manufacturing. PPG's reclamation of its former soda ash waste disposal sites, known as lime lakes, won recognition for environmental stewardship.

Norton, Ohio · United States