SAN JUAN DEL RIO, Mexico - PPG Industries has completed a $27 million expansion of its San Juan del Rio, Queretaro, Mexico, coatings manufacturing facility. The company marked completion of the project, which adds 115 new jobs, with a grand-opening ceremony attended by Queretaro State Governor Jorge Lopez Portillo Tostado and San Juan del Rio Mayor Fabian Pineda Morales.

"Mexico is an important, growing market for PPG, and this expansion is an important step for our future in serving customers here,” said Adriana Macouzet, PPG General Manager, Latin America – North.

The project adds four new buildings to the site, representing about 100,000 square feet of additional space for production, product development and quality testing. The additional capacity will enable PPG to meet increasing demand for its automotive original equipment manufacturer (OEM), packaging and industrial coatings by customers in Mexico.

Upgrades at the facility also include renovated space for support services, meeting rooms, and features for employees such as a renovated cafeteria and lockers. The new buildings incorporate sustainable designs that provide natural light in employee areas, use intelligent lighting systems to maximize energy efficiency, and incorporate water-recycling capabilities.

"These new facilities enhance PPG’s capability to serve the country’s fast-growing automotive manufacturing market with the latest waterborne and compact-process technologies that today’s global automakers demand,” said Matt Marek, PPG Vice President, Automotive OEM Coatings, Americas.

PPG’s San Juan del Rio facility produces a variety of products such as waterborne coatings, powder coatings, and low-VOC coatings and paints.