September 30, 2008

PPG Industries plans to close two Ontario plants

PITTSBURGH

PPG Industries Inc. is closing two manufacturing plants in Ontario and one in the Netherlands, in a cost-cutting move aimed at saving US$100 million a year.

The restructuring is part of PPG’s US$3.2 billion acquisition earlier this year of SigmaKalon Group, a Dutch coatings maker. PPG is a supplier of paints, coatings, chemicals, optical products, specialty materials, glass and fiberglass.

As part of the restructuring, PPG will close a coatings manufacturing plant in Clarkson, just west of Toronto, in the second quarter of 2009, affecting about 150 jobs. The company will also close operations at Geldermalsen in the Netherlands in next year’s third quarter.

PPG also said it will shut down a glassmaking plant in Owen Sound, Ont. with the loss of 170 jobs, and will idle a float glass production line in Mt. Zion, Ill., in the second quarter of 2009.

The loss of PPG jobs in Ontario continue a restructuring that has battered the province’s manufacturing sector. About 320 employees at the two Ontario plants and 110 workers in the Netherlands could be affected by the closings, spokesman Jeremy Neuhart said. PPG’s total global workforce is 40,000.

Canadian Press

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