ST. GEORGE — A $35 million glass fabrication facility that produces high-tech insulating glass panels to meet stringent design and performance criteria celebrated its grand opening Tuesday in St. George.

Officials from Viracon and St. George city spoke during a short ceremony at the new facility in the Ft. Pierce Industrial Park.

Tours of the 236,000-square-foot building gave local residents a chance to view the facility's technology, which company officials said would increase Viracon's glass fabrication capacity by nearly 20 percent. The St. George facility features two high-tech insulating glass lines as well as tempering, laminating, coating and silk-screening production lines.

"In recent years we have had customers asking for glass availability in this area as the population continues to escalate in the South and Western United States," said Brad Austin, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Viracon, in a press release. "This new facility will enable us to meet those needs."

The St. George facility already employs 150 people and is working on its first major project, a 76-acre, mixed-use mega-development called CityCenter on the Las Vegas Strip.

Viracon's St. George facility was designed to be energy efficient and utilizes a heat pump system to produce all of its electrical power needs.

The new plant is expected to hire up to 275 people within the next 2 1/2 years, company officials said.