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PPG Acquires Monarch Paint, Includes Two Plants in Texas

15 February 2000

PPG Acquires Monarch Paint, Includes Two Plants in Texas

    PITTSBURGH--Feb. 14, 2000--PPG Industries of Pittsburgh has acquired Monarch Paint Co., an architectural coatings producer headquartered in Houston. Terms were not disclosed.
    Monarch manufactures a complete line of architectural finishes, lacquer and drywall products distributed through a network of more than 50 retail stores in Texas and neighboring states.
    Maurice V. Peconi, vice president of architectural coatings, said the acquisition "expands PPG's network of stores serving regional markets with a strong brand that we will retain in Monarch's marketing area, as well as modern production facilities from which to serve the Southwest."
    He said the purchase was consistent with PPG's strategy of including well-established regional brands in expansion of its architectural coatings business, as with its late-1998 Porter Paints acquisition. About 180 Porter retail stores are mainly in the Southeast, with production in Louisville, Ky.
    "Texas has the second-largest population in the United States and has maintained a growth rate that exceeds the national average," Peconi said. "Monarch will accelerate PPG's presence and growth for the architectural coatings business in Texas and the Southwest."
    Monarch had 1999 sales approaching $90 million and employs about 500 people. It makes paint in Houston and at Waller, northwest of Houston.
    PPG has been a supplier of architectural coatings in the U.S. since 1900. It sells its Pittsburgh, Olympic and Lucite brands throughout North America.
    With 1999 sales of nearly $7.8 billion, PPG is also a leading maker of aerospace, automotive, industrial and packaging coatings, continuous-strand fiber glass, flat and fabricated glass, and chemicals. It has manufacturing operations in 23 countries.

    Internet: www.ppg.com