Vitro through the years

Following are some of the most important dates in the history of Vitro

• 1909 On December 6th Vidriera Monterrey was founded for the purpose of supplying the glass container demand from the beer Industry in Mexico.
• 1910 The installation process begins for the manufacturing facility with one furnace and two automatic machines “Owens”; each designed to produce 20 thousand beer bottles daily.
• 1918 Vidriera Monterrey begins to generate profit; shortly after it became necessary to expand its small installations and increase production.
• 1923 The installations are expanded and reach a capacity of 150 thousand glass bottles daily in order to supply containers to other liquor, medicine and food industries.
• 1929 The Float Glass, S.A. factory is inaugurated in Monterrey.
• 1934 A new subsidiary is established: Vidriera Mexico, S.A. in Mexico’s capital city to supply the growing demand for glass containers in central Mexico.
• 1935 The company begins to export glass bottles, crystal products and flat glass to Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama.
• 1936 One of the first three corporate companies is established in Monterrey, Fomento de Industria y Comercio (FIC), to administer the company’s operating units.
• 1943 Fabricación de Máquinas, S.A. (Fama) is founded in order to develop in house industrial technology.
• 1944 Vitro participates in the formation of ITESM and most especially the designing of its programs.
• 1944 Vidriera los Reyes, in the state of Mexico, is founded in order to supply glass containers to meet the internal and international market demand.
• 1947 FIC creates the Vidriera Clinic to offer medical service to its employees and families.
• 1950 FAMA begins to export machinery, glass container conveyers and molds to Uruguay, Australia and West Germany.
• 1951 In order to meet glass container demand in the central and western part of Mexico, Vidriera Guadalajara is incorporated into the corporation.
• 1956 Vidrio Plano of Mexico begins operations in Mexico City manufacturing glass with a special technique.
• 1956 Float Glass undertakes the acquisition of the first float glass furnace in Mexico and Latin America.
• 1959 Industria del Álcali en García, Nuevo León is created which begins operating the next year to produce sodium carbonate.
• 1964 Associating itself with an important beer and soft drink bottler in Central America, the company strengthens its regional position by establishing manufacturing plants in Costa Rica and Guatemala.
• 1968 Vidrio Plano de México S.A brings on line its first float glass line with the help and technical assistance of Pikington Brothers Limited.
• 1972 Cristales Inastillables de México specializing in the manufacture of automotive glass is incorporated into the company.
• 1976 FIC becomes a publicly traded company by emitting shares and registering on the Mexican Stock Exchange.
• 1979 FIC changes its name to Vitro, S.A.
• 1979 Vitro Flex S.A. is formed to manufacture automotive glass.
• 1981 Vidrio Plano, S.A. de C.V installs a float glass plant in García, Nuevo León.
• 1985 The beginnings of what is known today as Vitro Packaging is created with its headquarters in Plano, Texas, north of Dallas, to distribute glass containers in the US.
• 1991 Vitro Flotado, S.A. concludes the construction of its second furnace in García, Nuevo León to meet the national and international market demand.
• 1991 Auto Templex, S.A. de C.V. is formed as a company focused on the manufacture of complex curved automotive glass.
• 1992 Vitro acquires ACI America (today Vitro America), increasing its presence in the flat glass market in USA with more than 200 points of sale in the country.
• 1992 Vidriera Mexicali, S.A. de C.V. is inaugurated in Mexicali, Baja California.
• 1995 Vitro acquires Vidrio Lux, the largest glass container manufacturer in Bolivia.
• 1996 Vitro acquires 51 per cent of Vidrios Templados Colombianos (Vitemco) to create Vitro Colombia, a facility dedicated to process laminated and tempered glass for the automotive industry as well as the construction industry.
• 1998 Vitro S.A. changes its name to Vitro S.A. de C.V.
• 1999 Vitro Flat Glass, Mexico frees up its facility for value added products focused mainly on the architectural and industrial markets.
• 2001 Vitro Cristalglass is created after acquiring 60 percent of the shares of Cristalglass Vidrio Aislante, S.A., a holding company of the spanish group Cristalglass, covering the architectural market in Europe.
• 2002 Vitro Chaves, a business unit in Portugal also servicing the architectural market,
• joins the regional effort beginning in 2002.
• 2002 Vitro and AFG Industries establish a strategic alliance for the production of float glass in Mexicali, Northern Baja California.
• 2003 Vitro completes the revamp of the operating system for the furnace of Vidriera Queretaro, one of the largest in Latin America.
• 2006 Vitro, together with its partners in Central America, acquire the majority of the shares of the market leader in Panama that is focused on the manufacture of glass containers.
• 2006 The company takes total control of Vitro Flex upon the conclusion of the Vitro’s strategic alliance with Visteon and acquire 100 percent of sthe shares.
• 2007 Vitro acquires all of the shares of the Mexican company then called Vitro AFG located in Mexicali.
• 2007 Vitro Cristalglass, Vitro’s subsidiary in Europe brings on line its new furnace with the capacity to temper and thermal harden large dimension glass laminate.
• 2007 The first furnace of Vitro Cosmos is fired up, a plant located in the Industrial Valley of Toluca, for the manufacture of glass containers for cosmetics, fragrances, toiletries and pharmaceutical products.
• 2008 Vitro is awarded its first distinction as a Socially Responsible Corporation.
• 2008 Vitro enters France through its European subsidiary Vitro Cristalglass as it concludes the acquisition of the French company Verre et Glaces d’Epinay dedicated to supply architectural products and value added services to the region.
• 2008 Vitro Cristalglass brings on line its new production line for laminated and safety glass by increasing its flat glass conversion capacity.
• 2008 The Architectural Development Center opens its doors to supply integral technical support and “avante garde” solutions for architectural projects.
• 2009 Productos de Valor Agregado (PVA) opens its doors in Cancun, PVA’s second plant in Mexico, with one of the largest production lines for glass laminate in the country.
• 2009 Vitro brings on line in Garcia, Nuevo Leon the first production line for low light emission and solar control glass in Mexico.