PPG’s Coatings Capacity Expansion in Germany gets Underway

In a recent announcement made by PPG it was revealed that the company will be starting up the expanded clearcoat automotive OEM production facility in Erlenbach, Germany. The project is expected to cost around Euros 3 million. The project nearly doubles the plant’s capacity for premium clearcoats. The plant will be using advanced manufacturing technology to improve operational efficiency, sustainability, and flexibility as compared to conventional processes.

The investment is particularly targeted at capturing the growing regional demand. The capacity expansion will include a highly sustainable process to manufacture the coatings. The demand for automotive coatings has been stagnant in Europe since the semiconductor chip shortage had downside effect on automotive production. The demand is picking up in recent quarters and the company will be focusing on the regional markets since the demand is picking up.

The Erlenbach site was acquired by PPG in 2019 in order to enhance its automotive coatings business and to add formulating and manufacturing capacity. The new clearcoat facility will be using state of the art and highly sustainable process that will provide shorter and faster manufacturing cycles and batch sizes of up to 25 tonnes.

Automotive OEM coatings are basically of three types which include three layers of different coats. The coats include primer, base coat, and clear coat. Various materials available for the manufacturing of theses coatings are epoxy resins, polyurethane resin, and acrylic resins.

As per ChemAnalyst, “the investment by PPG will help the company in maintaining leadership in the clearcoats business. The plant has been initiated at a time when the automotive production which was hit by the semiconductor chip shortage is picking up again. This will help PPG in capturing the growing regional demand for advanced and innovative clearcoats for different vehicles.”