IMPERIAL — A German company is opening its first solar mirror production facility in suburban Pittsburgh.

The state has invested $9 million in the project, helping Flabeg choose Findlay, a town about 15 miles east of Pittsburgh, as the location for its new operation.

Flabeg already has a factory in Brackenridge, another Pittsburgh suburb, where 200 employees produce automotive mirror glass. That factory will remain active.

The new facility will produce mirrors used to generate solar energy and will create about 300 manufacturing jobs in an area hard-hit by the collapse of heavy industry. Flabeg is investing about $30 million in the project.

WASHINGTON — After a barrage of consumer complaints, the government is banning phone calls of prerecorded sales messages unless consumers agree to receive the calls.The Federal Trade Commission also announced that by December all prerecorded calls must provide an opt-out selection to make it easy for consumers to stop getting those calls. Effective Sept. 1, 2009, sellers and telemarketers may place prerecorded calls only to consumers who have provided signed and written agreements to receive them.The FTC said the rules will not affect informational prerecorded messages, such as messages to notify consumers of appointments and cancelations, because they do not attempt to sell goods or services.A report by the FTC said there were more than 13,000 consumers comments that objected to the telemarketing industry's request to gain more flexibility to make recorded sales calls.The agency said the new rules will protect consumers' privacy, much like the Do Not Call Registry. The registry, initiated in 2003, has been widely acclaimed for allowing Americans to eat their dinners without being interrupted by telephone sales pitches.