USGlass names Beuke, Struble of PPG among 100 most influential in industry

He is joined on the list by Robert J. (Rob) Struble, PPG manager, brand and communications.
Beuke, a 36-year PPG veteran, first worked in the glass industry in 1974 as a curtain wall hanger between college semesters at Georgia Southern University. He has spent most of his career serving the building and construction industries, including a six-year stint as vice president of PPG’s architectural coatings business. Since taking over as the top executive for PPG’s flat glass business last year, Beuke has helped guide the business successfully through one of the construction industry’s longest and deepest downturns.

Even in the midst of a difficult economic recovery, he believes glass manufacturers and their customers should be planning for better days ahead. “[One of the biggest challenges for the industry right now] is dealing with the reinvestment economics of an underutilized industry,” Beuke said. “[Customers need to understand that there is a] fundamental lack of capacity that will exist when the construction markets turn around.”

During Beuke’s tenure, PPG’s flat glass business has implemented aggressive plans to launch several new architectural glass products, including the recent debut of SUNGATE(R) 600 low-emissivity (low-e) glass, while expanding manufacturing capability for PPG solar glass products on the West Coast at plants in Fresno, Calif., and Salem, Ore.

Struble is a 25-year marketing veteran who has been with PPG’s flat glass business for more than a decade. He said his experience in other industries taught him that selling value is the biggest challenge facing the glass industry. “When you think about what we do, it’s pretty amazing,” Struble explained. “We take a common, opaque material and make it transparent and strong. Then we add a practically invisible coating … that splits the light spectrum and delivers hundreds of thousands of dollars in energy savings.”

USGlass magazine, published by Key Communications in Garrisonville, Va., is the official publication of the Glass Association on North America (GANA), a trade association whose members account for 88 percent of all glass sales in the U.S. The 2012 USGlass Most Influential People, published in the August issue, recognizes individuals who are leading change or having the greatest impact on the glass industry.

For more information on PPG glass technology, visit www.ppgideascapes.com or call 1-888-PPG-IDEA (774-4332).

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PPG Industries' vision is to continue to be the world’s leading coatings and specialty products company. Through leadership in innovation, sustainability and color, PPG helps customers in industrial, transportation, consumer products, and construction markets and aftermarkets to enhance more surfaces in more ways than does any other company. Founded in 1883, PPG has global headquarters in Pittsburgh and operates in more than 60 countries around the world. Sales in 2011 were $14.9 billion. PPG shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol: PPG). For more information, visit www.ppg.com.