PPG Aerospace Supplying Production and Spare Windows for Embraer KC-390

Oct. 22, 2014
PPG is designing and will produce the heated glass windshields and side cockpit windows at its Huntsville, AL, facility, while the fuselage windows are being designed of stretched acrylic and will be manufactured at its Sylmar, CA, location.

SYLMAR, Calif., Oct. 22, 2014 – PPG Industries’ (NYSE:PPG) aerospace transparencies group is designing windshields for the KC-390 military transport aircraft that will be the largest glass windshields PPG has produced and the industry’s first to have a compound bent shape affording ballistics resistance and night-vision capabilities.

PPG is under contract with Embraer Defense and Security to design and manufacture production and spare windshields, side cockpit windows and fuselage windows for the KC-390 aircraft.

According to Connie Poulsen, PPG global director for military transparencies, the windshields will be about 11 square feet to provide pilots with expansive viewing. The No. 2 and No. 3 side cockpit windows also will be glass and meet requirements for ballistics resistance and night-vision compatibility.

“PPG has a history of delivering complex technical solutions on time to Embraer, and that history was instrumental in Embraer’s decision-making process for the KC-390,” Poulsen said. “Our technical design capabilities and glass-bending expertise are critical to achieving the vision Embraer has for the KC-390 aircraft.”

PPG is designing and will produce the heated glass windshields and side cockpit windows at its Huntsville, Alabama, facility, while the fuselage windows are being designed of stretched acrylic and will be manufactured at its Sylmar, California, location. PPG has delivered first articles.

Embraer expects the aircraft to enter service in 2016.

In addition to the KC-390, PPG produces transparencies for nearly every Embraer aircraft in production today, such as the 314 ALX Super Tucano, ERJ 135/145, EMB 170/190, Phenom 100/300, Embraer Legacy 450 and Lineage 1000 aircraft.

PPG Aerospace is the aerospace products and services business of PPG Industries. PPG Aerospace – Transparencies is the world’s largest supplier of aircraft windshields, windows and canopies. PPG Aerospace – PRC-DeSoto is the leading global producer and distributor of aerospace coatings, sealants, and packaging and application systems. For more information, visit www.ppgaerospace.com.

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PPG Industries’ vision is to continue to be the world’s leading coatings and specialty materials company. Through leadership in innovation, sustainability and color, PPG helps customers in industrial, transportation, consumer products, and construction markets and aftermarkets to enhance more surfaces in more ways than does any other company. Founded in 1883, PPG has global headquarters in Pittsburgh and operates in nearly 70 countries around the world. Reported net sales in 2013 were $15.1 billion. PPG shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol: PPG). For more information, visit www.ppg.com and follow @PPGIndustries on Twitter.