PPG Agrees Purchase of Whitford Worldwide

PPG has reached a definitive agreement to buy US coatings company Whitford Worldwide for an undisclosed sum.

Headquartered in Elverson, Pennsylvania, privately owned Whitford specializes in making low-friction, wear-resistant coatings for industrial applications in automotive, aerospace, energy and construction products. It also makes non-stick coatings for cookware, bakeware and small electric appliances.

Whitford operates 10 manufacturing facilities around the world, notably at Elverson, Pennsylvania and Fostoria, Ohio in the US; Guelph, Ontario, Canada; Runcorn, UK; Brescia, Italy; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Jiangmen and Zhuhai, China; Tuas, Singapore and Bangalore, India.

PPG said the acquisition will enhance its portfolio and global market reach in the growing industrial coatings sector, as well as allowing it to leverage Whitford’s extensive expertise in fluoropolymer chemistry.

Dave Willis, Whitford’s founder and chairman, added that joining PPG is a giant step forward for the coatings specialist. He commented: “In one fell swoop, we will have access to new technologies, diverse R&D facilities, strong financial support and global coverage in areas where we have wanted to expand, but did not yet have sufficient resources.”

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2019, subject to the usual closing conditions.

In a regulatory securities filing in April this year, PPG announced that it had approved a business restructuring plan that will see the net loss of around 1,100 jobs by mid-2019. The company has not divulged where the cuts would occur but said most of the actions it needed to take would be completed by the end of the second quarter of 2019.

Less than two months ago at a conference, activist investor Trian called for PPG to oust McGarry as CEO and replace him with former chairman and CEO Charles Bunch. There has been no further news on Trian’s call since.