Basic HTML Version
80
MOTORINDIA
l
April 2012
PPG
expands auto paint business to
meet growing demand
The Pittsburg-based PPG, estab-
lished in 1883, is a global maker
of paints, coatings, optical prod-
ucts, specialty materials, chemi-
cals, glass and fiber glass. It has
38,000 employees spread over 60
countries. From the very begin-
ning, the company maintains its
focus on value-driven products
that accounted for its emergence
as one of the leading painting
and coating manufacturers in the
world. A $14 billion company, it
has 13 strategic business units in
six major product areas, of which
automotive which is part of the
Industrial Coating Division con-
tributes 28 per cent.
A perfect partnership
In India, PPG set up a joint ven-
ture with Asian Paints 15 years ago
in the name of Asian PPG Industries
Ltd. (APPG) that grew consistently
over the years. Considering the ac-
celerated activities of the Indian
automotive industry, the company
has expanded its operations at its
Sriperumbudur plant near Chennai.
Its current OEM customers include
Ford, Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland,
Mahindra & Mahindra, GM, Honda,
Hyundai and Volkswagen.
These and other company-related
developments were shared by the
officials with Mr. R. Natarajan, MO-
TORINDIA Managing Editor, dur-
ing his recent visit to PPG’s Tech-
nical Center and paint color studio
situated near Detroit.
He was also
delighted
to
learn that PPG
has won the
R&D 100 Award
nine times dur-
ing the last 14
years,
clearly
confirming the
company thrust
on new product
d e v e l o pm e n t
and technology.
Interestingly, 41
per cent of its
auto OEM sales
is accounted for
by the new prod-
ucts developed
in the last five
years. Growth of
the automotive
Focus on Detroit
PPG has plans to launch its high
technology products in India
which can help the local OEMs
to achieve world class products.
The company is also looking at
establishing new production fa-
cilities either in Pune or some-
where in Gujarat.