 In June 1916, the Libbey-Owens Sheet Glass Company was organized, and in 1917 the first Libbey-Owens plant opened in Charleston, West Virginia.In 1922, a Libbey-Owens sheet glass plant opened in Shreveport, Louisiana, becoming both the city's largest manufacturer and employer (However, this plant converted operations between 1972 and 1974 to Libbey Glass table-glassware manufacturing, which it continues today).In 1928, Libbey-Owens was the first company to produce automotive laminated safety glass and won a contract to supply the Ford Motor Company with windshields for the Model A. Libbey-Owens merged with the " Edward Ford Plate Glass Company" in 1930 to form Libbey-Owens-Ford Glass Company.