Pilkington North America (PNA), the Toledo, Ohio-based glass manufacturer and fabricator, has undertaken a new initiative to sell "downstream" mirroring what the company does in Europe.

"We haven't gone downstream in the United States, yet," said William George, director of marketing for PNA automotive glass replacement. "We are missing the opportunity to sell sundries as we do in Europe."

The company has just named Rick Nelson, former product manager for C.R. Laurence, as building products accessory product line manager. He is responsible for the development of the new flat glass accessory product line for distribution through the PNA service centers. (See glassBYTEs™ July 5, 2005 for announcement of Nelson's new position.) Nelson reports to George.

While the new position is building products-based, PNA's automotive operation has more experience selling sundries and accessories so the position reports to George. "There's a lot of overlap," he said. "We've identified 11 product categories (such as urethanes, J-channels, etc.) and many of them sell to both architectural and automotive shops."

However, George reiterated that PNA has "absolutely no plans" to enter the retail market. "We wouldn't touch that with a ten-foot pole," he said.