Guardian’s heritage is rooted in anticipating the right technologies for the right places. We started as a windshield manufacturer in 1932, supplying laminated windshields for Detroit’s burgeoning automotive industry. On October 26, 1970, under the leadership of William “Bill” Davidson, Guardian opened a state-of-the-art float-glass plant in Carleton, Michigan. At great risk and with no experience in making float glass, Guardian became the first U.S. company in 50 years to enter the primary glass market.

Leveraging the success of that first plant and our experience developing it, Guardian built float-glass plants first across the United States, followed by Europe, and finally expanding globally in regions as diverse as Thailand, India, Saudi Arabia and Russia. In 1983, we were among the first companies to develop low-emissivity (low-E) glass using the state-of-the-art magnetron sputter coating process. Guardian Glass has developed scores of new products for Guardian and custom solutions for our clients — addressing the needs of architects, fabricators, glaziers and others who use glass.

Guardian is ready to meet the challenges of the coming decades with new products and solutions that meet the needs of our clients. It is our great foundation — along with thousands of committed people — that has made the first 85 years possible.