Hankinson and PPG in Constructive Discussion
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Hankinson and PPG in Constructive Discussion Back

Date published: July 5, 2016

05 Jul

Stephen Hankinson was recently invited as a guest of PPG Industries to their research and development facilities in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

This included visits to their Allison Park Coatings Innovation Centre and the Glass Business and Discovery Centre in Harmar.

Founded in 1883 and with sales of over $15 billion, PPG Industries are the world’s leading supplier of paints, coatings, optical products, speciality materials, glass and fibreglass.  In the UK their brands include Johnstones and Leyland, and they have been a supplier of architectural and industrial coatings to the Hankinson Group since formation of the company. PPG’s vision includes the desire to consistently deliver high quality innovative and sustainable solutions that they trust to protect and beautify their products.

Paul Wilson, Director of Technology, Daniel Connor, Associate Director of Global Synthesis, Architectural and PMC, and Lorraine Hsu, Senior Research Chemist, were involved in showing Stephen around the Allison Park facility.

Stephen then visited the Harmar Research facility and met with Philippe Hosotte, Global Technical Director, together with his team of technical managers from around the globe, for an informative discussion and Q&A on Stephen’s perspective of UK painting industry and Hankinson product expectations from PPG.

The discussions were detailed and well received by all parties. During the visit the opportunities for collaborative engagement were discussed and it was agreed to continue these discussions where appropriate, for the benefit of all parties. 

Stephen Hankinson said “This was a tremendous opportunity to see a global coatings business in action and I was immensely impressed by their relentless commitment to product development and also in the way that they harvest information from their global operations.

The invite and the opportunity to speak directly to PPG’s global technical team also demonstrated the respect for Hankinson Group in the marketplace.”