PPG is to invest US$17 million to build an aerospace application support centre in Toulouse, France.

The paints, coatings and materials company expects to break ground for the new facility in the third quarter of 2022, with operations beginning in the fourth quarter of 2023.

The facility (an architect’s rendering is pictured above) will be strategically located near aerospace customers and Toulouse Blagnac Airport, PPG said. It will be the fifth PPG application support centre in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region and the second in France, joining the centre in Gonfreville.

“The construction of a new aerospace application support centre will allow us to better serve and collaborate with our aerospace customers in the region,” said Dirk Thelen, PPG’s general manager, Aerospace, EMEA. “The new facility will enhance our ability to provide unparalleled responsiveness and customer support, leading to faster qualification of products and higher participation in new projects, earlier in the development cycle.”

Capabilities at the centre will include a development and qualification laboratory for aerospace materials, a colour blending area for coatings, and a spray booth for hands-on training. It will also house filling lines for touch-up kits, a transparencies inspection cell, customised packaging capabilities for third-party products, chemical management resources and a customer service centre.

“ASC-Toulouse will be the 17th application support centre in our worldwide network,” added Thelen. “As we continue to grow our reach globally, we can ensure that all of our customers have convenient access to our latest aerospace technologies, while also improving the delivery of our products and providing technical resources regionally.”