PPG Industries held a ceremony on Jan. 8 marking the completion of a $20 million center for on-site electrocoat coatings blending at its resin manufacturing facility in Zhangjiagang, China.

The new 37,500-square-foot (nearly 3,500 square meter) center adds production and blending capacity for high-performance cathodic electrocoat (e-coat) coatings. It is PPG’s second e-coat blending operation in China, along with one in Tianjin. The new operation will help PPG meet growing demand by automotive-manufacturing and industrial customers for environmentally friendly coatings, such as waterborne e-coat products that comply with environmental regulations in China. Nearly 100 guests attended the opening ceremony, including local government officials, customer representatives, PPG executives and employees of the Zhangjiagang plant.

“China is the world’s second-largest economy and continues to be among PPG’s most important strategic markets globally,” said John Richter, PPG vice president of operations, coatings, Asia Pacific. “We remain committed to meeting customer demand in China through ongoing investment. As a key production base for PPG, our Zhangjiagang site has capacity for expansion, reflecting our confidence in China’s sustainable economic growth.”

PPG was the first company to introduce electrocoat technology commercially in an automotive OEM (original equipment manufacturer) assembly plant 52 years ago. E-coat technology offers high coating uniformity and efficiency as well as superior corrosion protection. It has virtually eliminated rust on vehicles in addition to providing corrosion resistance to household appliances, computers and other electronic devices, and automotive and mechanical parts, PPG says.

The Zhangjiagang site started production in 2011 as PPG’s first resin plant in China, supplying both PPG coatings businesses and customers in the Asia Pacific region.