Dive Brief:
- PPG will spend $225 million to build a paints and coatings manufacturing facility in Loudon, Tennessee, its first new U.S. plant in 15 years.
- Once fully operational, the 250,000-square-foot facility will create 129 jobs and produce 11 million gallons of paint and coatings a year. Construction is expected to begin in August and be complete in 2026.
- The Loudon plant will service automakers and auto part suppliers, with the option to supply other sectors including transportation, heavy-duty equipment, building and construction and consumer products, PPG said in a news release.
Dive Insight:
The Loudon facility is part of PPG’s $300 million investment to expand its paint and coatings manufacturing presence in North America in response to rising automotive demand.
PPG will use the remaining $75 million from the investment to install new equipment and other improvements at its facilities in Cleveland, Ohio, and San Juan Del Río, Mexico.
“As we continue to see a resurgence of manufacturing in the U.S., PPG will leverage this new facility and our other site investments to maximize quality, improve operational efficiency, and reduce product complexity within our manufacturing footprint,” PPG Chairman and CEO Tim Knavish said in a statement.
The Loudon location will also help the paint and coatings titan to boost supply chain efficiency, as it will be close to many automotive manufacturing facilities in the region, Knavish added.
For example, Tennessee is home to a Volkswagen plant, which began operations in Chattanooga in 2011 and expanded its facility to produce electric vehicles in 2022.
Other automakers and auto part suppliers have been setting up shop in Tennessee in recent years, including some in Loudon. In August, Hyundai supplier Hanon Systems announced plans to establish a $170 million auto thermal manufacturing facility in the city.
Elsewhere in the state, Ford Motor Co. began constructing its $5.6 billion EV mega campus in September 2022 in Stanton. The following year, Ford supplier Magna International announced plans to spend $790 million to build three facilities in Tennessee, two of which will be part of the automaker’s supplier park.
Ultium Cells and LG Chem are also building new battery and cathode manufacturing facilities in the state.
