2021–2022 Campus Recruitment Positions: PPG 2022 Campus Recruitment

Method Two: Scan the QR Code I. Company Profile II. Innovation Achievements Over its 138-year history, technological innovation has remained at the core of PPG’s success. Along this innovative journey, PPG has earned numerous honors and accolades. In recent years, multiple PPG innovative products have been selected for the prestigious 'R&D 100 Awards'—often dubbed the 'Oscars of Innovation' in the U.S. technology sector—by the authoritative American magazine R&D Magazine. · In 2017, several PPG innovations—including the Advanced Compact Process Primer-Surfacer, Liquid Nails Fuze*It All-Surface Construction Adhesive, ENVIROCRON® Ultra-Protective Powder Coating System, and AUDIOGUARD® Polymer Damping Material—were jointly honored with the 'R&D 100 Awards'. · In 2019, PPG’s innovative anodic epoxy electrophoretic coating received the 'R&D 100 Award'. · At the 'Digital Coating Future, Value Wins' 2020 China Coatings Summit held in Shanghai, PPG Industrial Coatings won two major awards: '2020 Influential Powder Coating Brand' and 'Outstanding Waterborne 3C Coating Brand'. III. Overview of Innovation Projects On October 20, 2018, PPG Coatings’ Zhangjiagang Plant Phase III groundbreaking ceremony was held. The project involves a total investment of USD 150 million, covers 174 mu (approx. 28.7 acres), and is scheduled for completion in 2021. Upon commissioning, Phase III will enable annual production capacity of 145,000 tons of high-performance coatings (including packaging, industrial, automotive, and refinish coatings) and 5,000 tons of PVC sealants, generating an estimated additional annual revenue of RMB 2 billion. In July 2020, PPG signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Zhangjiagang Bonded Area for its Zhangjiagang Phase IV Integrated High-Performance Coatings Production Base. This facility will become PPG’s largest global coatings manufacturing base. In 2019, PPG’s Global Coatings Innovation Center (GCIC) was established in TEDA, Tianjin, and is scheduled to open in 2023. Covering over 30,000 square meters, it will accommodate up to 500 technical personnel. This represents PPG’s largest-ever investment in science and technology—and one of the largest dedicated R&D investments in China’s coatings industry. As PPG’s sole global-level R&D center outside its U.S. headquarters, the TEDA GCIC will deploy state-of-the-art R&D methodologies and world-class laboratory facilities to explore cutting-edge scientific fields and address core industry challenges. On March 27, 2021, PPG officially launched its China Application Innovation Center (CAIC) in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu Province—the company’s first cross-business-unit R&D center in China, covering Industrial Coatings, Packaging Coatings, and Automotive Refinish Coatings. It aims to bridge the gap between innovative product development and customer application needs. The Ministry of Science and Technology of China’s R&D Trainee Program targets talent development and upgrading for both the TEDA GCIC and the Zhangjiagang CAIC. We offer a one-year structured development program. Trainees will explore their potential and accelerate growth through rotational assignments, intensive training, hands-on project participation, mentorship support, and formal reporting and review sessions—ultimately preparing to become key contributors to world-class R&D centers.

Another Global Chemical Giant Sells Business Units, Closes Plants, and Cuts 1,800 Jobs!

Following last month’s announcement by AkzoNobel—one of the world’s leading paint companies—that it plans to cut 2,000 jobs to improve cost efficiency, another Fortune 500 coatings industry leader has now announced plans to streamline operations, divest businesses, and reduce headcount. On October 17, PPG Industries—a world-leading supplier of paints, coatings, and specialty materials—announced it had entered into a definitive agreement with U.S.-based industrial investor American Industrial Partners (AIP) to sell its architectural coatings business in the United States and Canada for USD 550 million (approximately RMB 3.917 billion). The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2024 or early 2025. On the same day, PPG also unveiled a comprehensive cost-reduction initiative projected to generate approximately USD 175 million in annual pre-tax savings, including USD 60 million expected in 2025. The plan includes structural cost reductions across PPG’s global operations—such as the divestiture of its silica products business and the aforementioned architectural coatings business—as well as the elimination of 1,800 positions across the U.S. and Europe and the closure of multiple manufacturing facilities. Specifically, the U.S. and Canadian architectural coatings business being sold comprises nearly ten brands, including GLIDDEN® and OLYMPIC®. Its product portfolio spans interior and exterior wall paints, stains, caulks, repair products, adhesives, and sealants. Facilities included in the sale comprise seven production plants in the U.S., two in Canada, twelve distribution centers, and over 15,000 distribution points—including 750 company-owned stores and 6,600 independent distributors—a substantial operation. Reportedly, this U.S. and Canadian architectural coatings business accounted for approximately USD 2 billion of PPG’s total net sales in 2023, with EBITDA margins in the low single digits. Divesting this business is expected to significantly reduce costs and enhance profitability across PPG’s coatings segment and overall business. This streamlining effort primarily targets underperforming businesses. In addition to the architectural coatings business being sold in certain regions, PPG’s silica business remains pending divestiture. According to PPG, its coatings businesses in Latin America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region rank among the top market share holders in multiple countries and will remain core components of the company’s portfolio. Founded in 1883 and headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, PPG is a long-established Fortune 500 supplier of paints, coatings, and specialty materials. Its principal products—including paints, coatings, and specialty materials—are widely applied across construction, consumer goods, industrial manufacturing, and transportation sectors.