PPG to build company's first coatings plant in Russia

PPG has signed an "investment agreement" with the administration of the Kaluga Region, Russia, to build an automotive coatings and industrial coatings plant about 70 kilometers southwest of Moscow.



The plant will manufacture coatings for automotive and other industrial customers. The facility, which will be fully owned by PPG, will employ about 70 people and be located just north of the city of Kaluga in the Vorsino Industrial Park, according to Bill Wulfsohn, PPG senior vice president, coatings.



"The Russian economy is booming and automotive production is growing quickly. To best serve the market, we must have local manufacturing capabilities," Wulfsohn said. Currently, seven new automotive assembly plants are in the planning or construction phase in Russia and are expected to come online within the next three years.



"Our new plant will enable PPG to quickly respond with high quality standards to meet global and Russian customers' growing needs and requirements," Wulfsohn said. The new PPG facility will be located centrally in Russia, close to the new and existing automotive plants.



The Kaluga authorities "are particularly helpful for new investors," he said, and have attracted foreign investment from leading international companies such as VW, PSA, Volvo Truck, Samsung, John Deere, L’Oréal and Nestlé.



About PPG

Pittsburgh-based PPG is a global supplier of paints, coatings, chemicals, optical products, specialty materials, glass and fiber glass. The company has more than 150 manufacturing facilities and equity affiliates and operates in more than 60 countries. PPG’s sales in 2007 were $11.2 billion. SigmaKalon, a worldwide coatings producer based in Uithoorn, Netherlands, that PPG acquired Jan. 2, 2008, had 2007 sales of $2.9 billion. PPG shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol: PPG). For more information, visit www.ppg.com.