PPG to Build Company´s First Coatings Plant in Russia

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) is planning to build its first manufacturing

plant in Russia. PPG has signed an "investment agreement" with the administration of the

Kaluga Region, Russia, to build an automotive coatings and industrial

coatings plant about 70 kilometers southwest of Moscow. The plant will manufacture coatings for automotive and other industrial

customers. The facility, which will be fully owned by PPG, will employ

about 70 people and be located just north of the city of Kaluga in the

Vorsino Industrial Park, according to Bill Wulfsohn, PPG senior vice

president, coatings. "The Russian economy is booming and automotive production is growing

quickly. To best serve the market, we must have local manufacturing

capabilities," Wulfsohn said. Currently, seven new automotive assembly

plants are in the planning or construction phase in Russia and are

expected to come online within the next three years. "Our new plant will enable PPG to quickly respond with high quality

standards to meet global and Russian customers´ growing needs and

requirements," Wulfsohn said. The new PPG facility will be located

centrally in Russia, close to the new and existing automotive plants. The Kaluga authorities "are particularly helpful for new investors," he

said, and have attracted foreign investment from leading international

companies such as VW, PSA, Volvo Truck, Samsung, John Deere, L´Oréal

and Nestlé. About PPG Pittsburgh-based PPG is a global supplier of paints, coatings

chemicals, optical products, specialty materials, glass and fiber glass.

The company has more than 150 manufacturing facilities and equity

affiliates and operates in more than 60 countries. PPG´s

sales in 2007 were $11.2 billion. SigmaKalon, a worldwide coatings

producer based in Uithoorn, Netherlands, that PPG acquired Jan. 2, 2008

had 2007 sales of $2.9 billion. PPG shares are traded on the New York

Stock Exchange (symbol: PPG). For more information, visit www.ppg.com.