PPG has announced a USD40 million investment to expand its facility in Sumare, Sao Paulo, Brazil. The coatings manufacturing facility will be expanded with a 65,000-square feet plant for on-site resin production, the company said in a statement. The resin will be used to manufacture electrocoat products for OEMs and industrial coatings customers. The new facility is scheduled to be completed in 2015, adding 30 new jobs. Senior vice-president of automotive coatings Cynthia Niekamp said: "PPG is committed to the market in Brazil and the needs of our customers across Latin America. The expansion of the Sumare facility enables PPG to localise production and demonstrates our long-term commitment to support our customers in this very important region."
Significance: PPG's announcement follows a USD27 million investment by the company in a Mexican coatings facility. Manufacturing investment in Brazil is encouraged by the Inovar taxation programme, which encourages local production and research and development, as well as by the forecasts for growth in the region. Although the country's vehicle sales and production are struggling in 2014 and are set to decline, the forecast is for an increase in sales from 3.57 million units in 2013 to 4.34 million units in 2020. After dipping in 2014, vehicle production is forecast to grow from 3.46 million units in 2013 to 4.37 million units in 2020.
