PITTSBURGH - PPG Industries Inc. announced that Dennis A. Kovalsky, vice president, Aerospace, will become vice president, Automotive Coatings. He will succeed Richard Zahren, who will retire March 1 after 33 years with the company.

Kovalsky joined PPG in 1977 as an engineer at the company's Circleville, OH, resins plant. He has held manufacturing-management positions at coatings plants in the United States and Europe, and was named global director of Pretreatment and Specialty Products in 1998. He became vice president of Aerospace Coatings and Sealants in 2000 following PPG's acquisition of PRC-DeSoto International, and was named vice president, Aerospace, following the combination of the Aerospace Coatings and Sealants and Aircraft Transparency businesses.

Zahren joined PPG's Glass Engineering department in 1965 and has held a variety of positions with the company. He was named vice president of Automotive Coatings Operations in 1994 and vice president of Automotive Coatings in 1995.

Michael A. Ludlow, PPG senior vice president, OEM Coatings, said Zahren "has made significant contributions to PPG over the years. Most notably, he has led automotive coatings during a period of rapid change and at a time when this unit has made significant technical innovations."