PITTSBURGH - PPG Industries Inc. has begun operations at the company's new, $6 million electrodeposition coatings application center, located at the company's automotive Application Development Center in Flint, MI.

The e-coat center houses two full-size dip tanks that allow PPG and its customers to test and evaluate various vehicle primer products and processes, the company said. The 15,500-square-foot facility is the only one of its type in the industry and houses two 28,000-gallon e-coat tanks, two product storage tanks, a gas oven, and automated crane systems for dipping and removing vehicle bodies from the tank, PPG said.

Luke M. Scrivanich, PPG director of Substrate Protection Systems, said the facility allows the company to simulate any assembly plant's production environment. He said the facility continues PPG's record as a pioneer in the use of electrocoating products and processes.