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PPG Buys European Auto Refinish, U.S. Coatings Pretreament Firms

8 October 1997

PPG Buys European Auto Refinish, U.S. Coatings Pretreament Firms

    PITTSBURGH, Oct. 8 -- PPG Industries is expanding
its automotive refinish coatings business and broadening its coatings
pretreatment capabilities with two acquisitions.
    Chief Executive Officer Raymond W. LeBoeuf said PPG will acquire Max Meyer
Duco S.p.A. of Milan, Italy, a well-regarded European supplier of automotive
refinishes, fleet finishes and decorative coatings, from Santavaleria S.p.A.
Pending government approvals, he said, the purchase should be completed by
year-end.
    He said PPG has completed the purchase of the pretreatment and process
lubricants business of Man-Gill Chemical Co. in Euclid, Ohio, a Cleveland
suburb.
    According to LeBoeuf, annual sales of the two businesses total about
US$150 million.
    "When we announced in August we would buy BASF's worldwide packaging
coatings business, I said more acquisitions were ahead," LeBoeuf said.  "Those
announced today are consistent with our strategy of pursuing profitable growth
with geographic and product-line expansion in businesses with consistently
superior financial performance.
    "The purchase of Max Meyer Duco is a significant step in our ongoing
European expansion for auto refinishes," he added.  "It reinforces PPG's
position as a leading coatings supplier to Europe's auto industry.  With a
well-established presence in Italy, France, Germany, Greece, Spain,
Switzerland and the United Kingdom, it will expand substantially our auto
refinishes and fleet finishes activity in Europe, where PPG is the leading
supplier of original equipment automotive coatings."
    Max Meyer Duco, which employs about 600 people, has a plant and
laboratories in Milan and another plant in Naples, Italy.  As does PPG, it has
several refinish training centers in Europe.
    Products of Man-Gill's chemicals business, with about 100 employees, are
used prior to the application of finish coatings in production of appliances
and packaging as well as in metal fabrication operations.
    "By broadening our technology and product line, the Man-Gill unit extends
PPG's pretreatment capabilities for industrial coatings as well as marketing
opportunities for packaging and appliance coatings," LeBoeuf said. "We can now
supply a complete line of pretreatments to complement our broad array of
automotive and industrial coatings."
    PPG is a leading global producer of coatings, fiber glass, glass and
chemicals, with annual sales exceeding US$7 billion.

SOURCE  PPG Industries