Facilities

Caracal is located in Ford City, on the banks of the Allegheny River, amidst tree covered hills and valleys forty miles north of Pittsburgh. Founded in 1887 by Pittsburgh Plate and Glass’s John B. Ford, Ford City was once a bustling town of 6,200, and home of the world’s largest plate glass factory. The work force peaked at 5,000 in the 1950’s.

Abandonned plate glass factory building begfore Caracal's renovation
The abandoned plate glass factory building before Caracal's renovation.

The town’s fortunes declined as the glass plant reduced staff, culminating in 1993, when PPG ceased operations, leaving behind abandoned buildings and 47 acres of former factory grounds surrounded by barbed wire. Ford City lost almost 45% of its residents. Despite the dwindling population and vacant storefronts, local leaders refused to give up on the town. They worked with both PPG and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to transform the brownfield site into a prime location for commercial development, the Ford City Heritage and Technology Park.

Caracal welcomed the opportunity to contribute to Ford City’s rebirth. The company considered many potential locations, but Ford City’s proximity to the Penn State's Electro-Optics Center, powerhouse research universities such as Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh, and the region’s economic development agencies, combined to make the small town an ideal choice. On February 14, 2005, Governor Ed Rendell cut the ribbon on Caracal’s facility in PPG’s old Shop 2 building where glass-making equipment used to be made. In just five months, Caracal transformed the site from dirt floors to a state-of-the art manufacturing facility for silicon carbide wafers.

Govenor Ed Rendell at Caral's Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
Governor Rendell announces the opening of the renovated Caracal facility.

"This is the manufacturing of the future," Governor Rendell announced to the local, state and economic development officials gathered at the ribbon cutting ceremony. "This is the type of high-tech manufacturing needed to go along with Pennsylvania's traditional manufacturing. What we've created here has the potential to grow into a multibillion dollar market and what is being done here will bring back business to this site."

Caracal has already prepared to meet this growing demand by negotiating an option to double its space at the Ford City facility.

Web site designed and maintained by: Pauline Connelly, Web Design + e-Marketing, Pittsburgh PA

"What we have created here has the potential to grow into a multibillion dollar market."

- Governor Ed Rendell

Facilities

Web site designed and maintained by: Pauline Connelly, Web Design + e-Marketing, Pittsburgh PA