PPG Experts to Discuss Breakthrough Automotive Coatings Technologies at 2017 FOCUS Conference

PPG (NYSE: PPG) experts will join development partners and other automotive and coatings industry participants to discuss two groundbreaking automotive coatings technologies and take part in a panel discussion during the 42nd Annual FOCUS (Future Of Coatings Under Study) Conference, at Michigan State University Management Education Center in Troy on May 4.

Stacey Orzech, PPG manager of automotive powder coatings technology, North America, will present “Powder Tu-tone: From the ‘Box’ to the Vehicle: The Art of Powder Application in Automotive Manufacturing.” She will discuss the work that enabled color powder basecoats by PPG to be used in commercial production on a light vehicle body, providing operational efficiency, exceptional anti-chip performance and near-zero volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions for the OEM.

Caroline Harris, PPG senior research manager, original equipment manufacturer (OEM) decorative automotive coatings, and Jim Pakkala, senior engineering manager for Dürr Systems, will describe how the companies partnered to develop “Project LEAPP™ – Low Energy Automotive Paint Process.” Project LEAPP technology was funded in part by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), U.S. Department of Energy, under Award Number DE-0005777. The presentation will examine "compact process" paint application systems, which reduce capital expenditures and operating costs for OEMs by eliminating the need for energy-intensive drying equipment and decreasing total painting time, and it will describe a vision for the future of spray-applied coating layers including a technical development underway to enable low-temperature curing in industrial applications.

Additionally, Jim Ohlinger, PPG product engineering manager, sprayable decorative automotive coatings, will participate in a panel discussion titled "From the Can to the Car – Extending the Boundaries of Technology."

Presented by the Detroit Society for Coatings Technology, the FOCUS Conference features experts who examine and present ways of extending the boundaries of coatings technology that will transport the automotive industry into the future.

For more about PPG’s innovative automotive OEM coatings products and technologies, visit www.ppgautocoatings.com.

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At PPG (NYSE:PPG), we work every day to develop and deliver the paints, coatings and materials that our customers have trusted for more than 130 years. Through dedication and creativity, we solve our customers’ biggest challenges, collaborating closely to find the right path forward. With headquarters in Pittsburgh, we operate and innovate in more than 70 countries and reported net sales of $14.8 billion in 2016. We serve customers in construction, consumer products, industrial and transportation markets and aftermarkets. To learn more, visit www.ppg.com.

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