PPG recently announced it will invest $17 million to build an aerospace application support center (ASC) in Toulouse, France. The new facility is anticipated to break ground July 2022 and open the fourth quarter of 2023.
Dirk Thelen, PPG general manager, Aerospace, EMEA, said Toulouse has evolved into the heart of the European aerospace industry, so it is important for PPG to have a presence there.
“PPG’s aerospace business currently has regional sales and support offices established in Toulouse, so the addition of the application support center will give us a larger footprint in the region,” he continued.
The construction of ASC-Toulouse is a strategic initiative that will allow PPG to better serve and collaborate with their aerospace customers in the area. The ASC will be located near the Toulouse-Blagnac Airport, where many maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) activities take place and where many aerospace original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and subcontractors have a strong presence.
ASC-Toulouse will provide technical resources regionally while serving aerospace OEMs and supporting MRO activities.
“ASC-Toulouse will house a qualification laboratory for aerospace materials such as coatings, sealants and adhesives. It will also have a color blending area for coatings and a spray booth for paint application trials and hands-on training. Other functions of the ASC include filling lines for touch-up kits, a transparencies inspection cell, customized packaging capabilities for third-party products, chemical management resources and a customer service center,” said Thelen.
As part of PPG’s global network of 17 aerospace application support centers, ASC-Toulouse will support existing products and programs.
“The site allows for flexibility to incorporate future product development into its manufacturing capabilities,” said Thelen. “The new facility will enable PPG to provide more efficient customer service and quicker response times. ASC-Toulouse will also help PPG with faster qualification times for new products and more participation with new projects early in the development cycle.”
In addition to ASC-Gonfreville, ASC-Toulouse will be PPG’s second aerospace application support center in France, the fifth in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region and the 17th globally.
“All of PPG’s aerospace application support centers in our global network provide worldwide customer support from a regional base that improves delivery of our aerospace products – coatings, sealants, chemical management services, packaging and more – and brings technical resources closer to our local customers,” said Thelen.
He continued that PPG sees a very bright future for their aerospace business.
“As the global airline industry continues to recover, PPG is adapting to changing market dynamics by partnering with our customers and providing innovative products and solutions. The construction of ASC-Toulouse is just one example of the investment that PPG is making into our aerospace business,” Thelen added.
