Global company for paints, coatings and specialty materials for industry, automotive, aerospace and construction.
PPG Industries, Inc.
Pittsburgh, PA · Lima, OH · Creighton, PA · Barberton, OHNew on Amplifa
About PPG
PPG Industries is a publicly listed US company headquartered in Pittsburgh that develops, manufactures and applies pigments, coatings and specialty materials. The portfolio includes waterborne and solventborne primers, basecoats and clearcoats, powder primers, as well as scratch-resistant ceramic clearcoats for the automotive industry. Through its Coatings Services division, PPG offers contract coating, including liquid painting, powder coating, electrocoat (E-Coat) and pretreatment, based on the predecessor companies MetoKote and The Crown Group. With PPG Advanced Surface Technologies, a joint venture with entrotech, the company supplies clear protective and paint films that can be applied without a paint booth. Further business segments are Aerospace, Architectural Coatings, Industrial Coatings, Packaging, Protective & Marine, Traffic Solutions as well as specialty materials such as optical monomers, filtration technologies and TESLIN substrates. PPG is active in more than 50 countries and generated revenue of USD 15.9 billion in 2025.
- Site
- Pittsburgh
- Processes
- Liquid paint application (Liquid Paint), Powder coating, Electrocoat (Electrocoat / E-Coat), Pretreatment, Waterborne primers, basecoats, clearcoats, Solventborne primers, basecoats, clearcoats, Powder primers, Scratch-resistant ceramic clearcoats
- Materials
- Electrocoat (E-Coat), Liquid Paint, Powder Coating, Waterborne Coatings, Solventborne Coatings, Scratch-Resistant Ceramic Clearcoats, Paint Film / Matte Clear Film, Optical Monomer CR-39
- Founded
- 1883
- Industries
- Automotive OEM and tier suppliers, Aerospace/aviation, Architecture/construction, Industry, Packaging (food, beverages, cosmetics), Protective & Marine (infrastructure, offshore, petrochemicals, energy)
- 01
Pretreatment
- 02
Electrocoat (E-Coat)
- 03
Liquid painting (primer, basecoat, clearcoat)
- 04
Powder coating
- 05
Paint film application
- 06
Process optimization (PPG Optima Solutions)
Technologies & Processes
Electrocoat (E-Coat)
Immersion coating that has been used commercially since the 1960s and largely prevents corrosion in automotive manufacturing.
Liquid Paint
Application of primer, basecoat and clearcoat as a contract manufacturing service for industrial and automotive customers.
Powder Coating
Powder painting and powder primers for precise, uniform protective coatings.
Waterborne Coatings
Low-emission primers, basecoats and clearcoats for vehicle series painting.
Solventborne Coatings
Primers, basecoats and clearcoats for conventional application processes.
Scratch-Resistant Ceramic Clearcoats
High-performance clearcoats with increased scratch resistance for automotive surfaces.
Paint Film / Matte Clear Film
Self-healing paint and clear films that can be applied without a paint booth, avoiding emissions, exhaust extraction and heating expenses.
Optical Monomer CR-39
Material used since the 1940s for eyeglass lenses and optical products.
Locations
Pittsburgh, PA
USCorporate headquarters
Lima, OH
USPPG Coatings Services (1340 Neubrecht Road)
- Materials
- Liquid paint, powder paint, E-Coat, pretreatment
- Powder coating line
Creighton, PA
USHistoric founding site of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co.
Barberton, OH
USHistoric alkali plant (1899), precursor of the chemicals business
Applications & Components
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liquid paint application (Liquid Paint)Surface | – | – | – | – | – |
| Powder coatingSurface | – | – | – | – | – |
| Electrocoat (Electrocoat / E-Coat)Surface | – | – | – | – | – |
| PretreatmentSurface | – | – | – | – | – |
| Waterborne primers, basecoats, clearcoatsSurface | – | – | – | – | – |
| Solventborne primers, basecoats, clearcoatsSurface | – | – | – | – | – |
| Powder primersSurface | – | – | – | – | – |
| Scratch-resistant ceramic clearcoatsSurface | – | – | – | – | – |
| Paint Film / Matte Clear Film application (film solutions without a paint booth, self-healing)Surface | – | – | – | – | – |
| Electrodeposition coatingSurface | – | – | – | – | – |
Additional services
Reference customers
History
- 1883
Founded as Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. by Capt. John B. Ford and John Pitcairn in Creighton, PA – the first commercially successful plate glass factory in the USA.
- 1899
Diversification with the construction of an alkali plant in Barberton, Ohio, as a precursor to the chemicals businesses.
- 1900
Entry into the coatings business through a stake in Patton Paint Co. (Wisconsin); early expansion into Europe with a glass plant in Belgium.
- 1920er
The ribbon process revolutionizes plate glass manufacturing; start of aerospace transparencies (Ford Trimotor); acquisition of the Ditzler Color Company with more than 500 colors for 40 automotive manufacturers.
- 1930er
Introduction of SOLEX heat-absorbing glass and Herculite tempered glass.
- 1940er
Development of laminated aircraft glass; conversion to military production during the Second World War; development of synthetic resins; introduction of the optical monomer CR-39.
- 1950er
Introduction of lead-free house paints; build-up of the fiberglass business (1952).
- 1960er
Commercialization of the electrocoat process (electrodeposition), which largely eliminated rust in automotive manufacturing.
- 2021
Build-up of paint films capacity through the acquisition of the German coatings supplier Wörwag.