Growing along with Tianjin

Tianjin in northern coastal China is on top of some global industrial leaders' business radars and PPG Industries Inc is one of them.

"The dynamic development of Tianjin will bring us tremendous development opportunities in the region," says Charles E. Bunch, PPG's chairman and chief executive officer. "We believe strongly and wish Tianjin will have a brighter development, and PPG will also have a brighter future in Tianjin and in China."

PPG is a US-based coatings, specialty products and services company involved in construction, consumer products, industrial and transportation markets and aftermarkets. It has 15 facilities and offices in the Chinese mainland, two in Taiwan and one in Hong Kong.

Bunch says PPG will build an Application Support Center (ASC) adjacent to Airbus' Tianjin A320 assembly line in the city.

That will be PPG's second similar facility on the Chinese mainland.

"Although we have already a similar center in China, we want to build another one in Tianjin to stay close to Airbus' new project and to offer the same quality service to our important partner Airbus as we did in Europe," Bunch says.

PPG provides Airbus with sealant, coatings, windshield glass and cabin glass for its aircraft.

Building the A320 assembly line in China is an important step in the implementation of Airbus' global strategy. PPG is honored to be part of this effort, and is look forward to helping Airbus soar in China with local, timely and high-quality service, Bunch adds.

The ASC will be in Tianjin Airport Industrial Park and right next to the Airbus Tianjin Final Assembly line facilities.

Details including the investment cost and construction timetable are not yet available.

Besides providing local support to Airbus Tianjin with PPG civil aviation products, PPG will also offer Total Solution Service (TSS) to Airbus Tianjin to help manage chemicals effectively. Under the PPG TSS program, PPG's global and local sourcing network will also help to reduce its procurement cost dramatically.

"We will provide workspace on demand for the distribution of (chemicals) to keep the aircraft assembling activities moving as scheduled," says Bunch. "Our chemical management will enable Airbus Tianjin to fully comply with Chinese government's environmental protection requirements."

PPG and Airbus have a long history of worldwide cooperation, and in Tianjin, the partnership is even stronger. In June 2007, the PPG Aerospace Materials business unit in the Asia Pacific region provided painting training for workers on the Airbus A320 assembly line.

In addition to the new center for Airbus, PPG plans to bring more new products and research and development (R&D) projects to Tianjin, only a one hour-drive from Beijing, says Bunch.

New PPG products to be made in Tianjin include water-based eco-friendly coatings for consumer electronics such as computers and cell phones, and some industrial paint products for automotives and buildings.

Related R&D projects to fully exploit the market potential of the products will also be emphasized, says Bunch.

Talking about the planned Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city, Bunch cannot hide his excitement.

In his eyes, the Eco-city project is a great opportunity as well as a responsibility for Tianjin, and also for PPG.

"It will be a golden chance to showcase Tianjin's dynamic sustainable development. It is also a good opportunity for PPG to demonstrate our eco-friendly products and solutions," Bunch says.

In April, the Chinese and Singaporean governments approved a development plan for the Eco-city. It will be the second flagship Sino-Singaporean cooperation project since the Suzhou Industrial Park and will draw on Singapore's eco-conservation experience in regard to efficient energy use and environmental protection.

"PPG always recognizes its responsibility to address two of the critical issues facing the world today - energy security and climate change. Therefore, we hope to be actively involved to support the construction of the Eco-city, with our environmental-friendly products and ecological solutions and personnel with expert knowledge on green buildings," the PPG CEO says.

PPG came to China in the 1980s, where it was one of the earliest and few foreign coatings companies. In 1994, when PPG decided to build factories in Tianjin, the company considered Tianjin's location to better serve its local customers, but, as a business, to enable the sustainable growth of the coatings industry in China and the Asia-Pacific region.

PPG Coatings (Tianjin) Co Ld was registered in 1994 in the Tianjin Economic and Development Area with a total investment of $23.8 million and covering an area of nearly 40,000 square meters.

PPG Tianjin has been enjoying double-digit growth since its establishment. In 2007, PPG Tianjin achieved an annual sales of 1.5 billion yuan.

In 2007, PPG Tianjin expanded its facility from 40,000 square meters to 100,000 square meters, including building one production workshop, two warehouses for raw materials and finished products respectively, and one utility center.

(China Daily 09/01/2008 page6)