PPG SUPPORTS SkillsUSA WITH $10,000 DONATION

For Immediate Release:
July, 2008

PPG Automotive Refinish
19699 Progress Drive
Strongsville, Ohio 44149

For further information please contact:

Calvinia Fields
(440) 572-2800
cfields@ppg.com
PPG Automotive Refinish,
19699 Progress Drive, Strongsville, Ohio 44149
 

STRONGSVILLE, Ohio – July 15, 2008 – PPG Automotive Refinish has donated $10,000 to SkillsUSA, a national nonprofit organization serving teachers, high school, and college students who are preparing for careers in trade, technical and skilled service occupations. The organization acts as a link between education and industry, helping students excel in their chosen field and qualify for jobs in the real world. More than 300,000 students and instructors join SkillsUSA annually.

The PPG donation was earmarked to support the 2008 National SkillsUSA Championships held in Kansas City, Missouri June 25 – 26. The Championships is a national-level competition that involves over 5,000 students vying in 91 hands-on skill and leadership contests including collision repair technology and, for the first time, a separate automotive refinishing contest. Each SkillsUSA Championships contestant is a state-level gold medalist.

Tom Holdsworth, SkillsUSA, director of communications, says, “We appreciate the continuing support we receive from PPG. They have been instrumental in our automotive collision program, and this year, they played an important part in creating a separate automotive refinishing contest to challenge our students and to match ever-evolving industry needs and expectations. Involvement by prominent industry sponsors such as PPG helps our technical instructors stay on top of developments in refinish technology. They then pass that knowledge on to their students who, in turn, are able to keep up with the industry and acquire the skills they’ll need—and are expected to have—when they enter the work force.”

PPG has actively supported SkillsUSA for many years. PPG employees and distributors frequently serve as judges at local, state and national skills competitions. PPG personnel have held key positions on the SkillsUSA advisory committees and the SkillsUSA Youth Development Foundation since the organization’s start in 1965.

Bill Troyer, PPG training manager, says, “We’re very pleased to make this donation to SkillsUSA. They help develop well-rounded, motivated young people with the desire to attain the skills and competency levels required to succeed in our industry. This year, with the introduction of the automotive refinish contest, the skills the students learn and develop will be particularly important for our customers—and the whole industry—down the road. We are happy to support SkillsUSA and to participate in their activities and competitions.”

For more information about PPG Automotive Refinish, call 800-647-6050 or visit www.ppgrefinish.com. For more information about SkillsUSA, visit www.skillsusa.org.

Photo caption: Photos by Clay Allen, photographer for SkillsUSA.

##

About PPG
Pittsburgh-based PPG is a global supplier of paints, coatings, chemicals, optical products, specialty materials, glass and fiber glass. The company has more than 150 manufacturing facilities and equity affiliates and operates in more than 60 countries. PPG’s sales in 2007 were $11.2 billion. SigmaKalon, a worldwide coatings producer based in Uithoorn, Netherlands, that PPG acquired Jan. 2, 2008, had 2007 sales of $2.9 billion. PPG shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol: PPG). For more information, visit www.ppg.com.

About SkillsUSA
SkillsUSA is a national nonprofit organization of students, teachers and industry, working together to ensure America has a skilled work force. SkillsUSA helps high school and college students enrolled in career and technical education programs to excel by teaching employability skills such as communication, problem solving and leadership in conjunction with their trade, technical and service occupations skills. The association’s annual membership exceeds 300,000 students and instructors in more than 4,000 schools and colleges in every state, three territories and the District of Columbia. For more information, visit www.skillsusa.org.