PPG has established a new center of intelligence at its Quattordio, Italy-based office in an effort to leverage its automotive color development capabilities. The Pittsburgh based company announced that the investment totaling $2.6 million will be allocated toward the development of a new system that would integrate development and application into a single process, optimize the cost of the process and improve the performance of color, according to a release on August 2.
“With this new facility, PPG will elevate its color development to a new level, utilizing digital tools to simplify and modernize the processes,” PPG Global Director, decorative business, Automotive Coatings Federico Menta, said. “It is also a critical enabler to fulfill our customer expectations in terms of speed, accuracy and quality.”
The facility will be supported by artificial intelligence technology used to assist with color development and quality control processes, including a statistical and machine learning tool capable of reducing the number of color adjustment steps, reducing costs and minimizing cycle time during the development of basecoats and colored products.
In Quattordio, PPG’s Automotive Coatings in Europe counts with the support of a production and innovation site, as well as a styling center designed to support the study and development of new automotive colors. PPG has established an operational presence in 70 countries thus far, and calculated its net sales to be $17.7 billion in 2022.
“This project reflects PPG’s ambition to be the first-choice partner to meet customers’ evolving needs for innovative paints and coatings and provide industry-leading solutions that provide productivity and sustainability benefits,” PPG operations director in EMEA of Industrial Coatings, Isabella Ercole, said. "This new center of excellence, an end-to-end combination of the development and application of colors, is also an investment in our employees, who will benefit from an innovative workspace and will be able to improve their skills working together as a One PPG Team.”