of the Barberton Satellite Center, which
was created to add needed work-force
development in the area,” said Stark
State College president Dr. Para M.
Jones. “The goal of this school is to pre-
pare students for careers that are aligned
with needs in the local area and beyond,
so it’s very valuable to form partnerships
with local employers such as PPG.”
PPG partnered with the city
of Barberton and the Barberton
Community Foundation to help Stark
State College bring the satellite cen-
ter to Barberton. The center features
state-of-the-art equipment for welding
training and offers a range of academ-
ic classes leading to two-year associ-
ate’s degrees in several disciplines. It
makes education for manufacturing
and technology careers more acces-
sible and affordable to area residents,
Jones said, adding that enrollment has
been robust since the center’s January
2013 opening.
“PPG is strongly committed to sup-
porting the communities where its
employees work and live, especially
through educational initiatives that help
grow the manufacturing work force,”
said Ted Ladd, PPG plant manager at the
Barberton facility. “With the Barberton
Satellite Center, Stark State is helping
increase the pool of workers with in-
creased competency and maintenance
skills who can fill and retain important
roles at PPG’s and many other compa-
nies’ local facilities.”
Devoe Paint Launches New
Web Site
Devoe Paint has launched a new website with intuitive navigation, inspiring
graphics, easy-to-access product information and useful contractor and dealer
resources. Designed to support paint contractors and independent paint retailers,
1754paint.com directs users to a store
locator, full product information and a
color page with coordinated palettes, collections, trends and a visual painter.
Mercedes-Benz Invests in
Advanced Coatings Facility
in Vietnam
Mercedes-Benz is increasing its investment in Vietnam by opening its first electro-dipping coating facility worldwide
in Ho Chi Minh City. The advanced and
eco-friendly facility has an investment
of nearly $10 million. Mercedes is using
Vietnam as a pilot country for this type
of plant. Located inside the Mercedes-Benz Vietnam factory in the city’s Go
Vap District, the facility covers an area of
5,000 square metres.
The facility eliminates heavy and extremely hazardous metals such as nickel,
zinc or manganese, and decreases clean
water usage by 40 percent, electrical energy by 40 percent and wastewater by 30
percent, compared to traditional
phosphate coating technology,
according to the company. The
electro-dipping coating facility of Mercedes-Benz Vietnam can paint
many types of chassis and structural
components. This facility will be used for
the locally manufactured body frames of
GLK, C-Class and E-Class. After installing the plant in Vietnam, the parent firm
Daimler will further spread this technology to other countries.
“We not only introduce the safest and
most luxurious vehicles to Vietnam’s cus-
tomers, but the most advanced ecologi-
cally friendly German technology to this
country as well,” said Peter Alexander
Trettin, president and CEO of Daimler
Central/Eastern Europe Africa and Asia
in Stuttgart, Germany. “Vietnam is one
of our production plants worldwide. We
highly appreciate this market and commit
to a long-term investment.”
He said this facility is also a sig-
nificant investment by Mercedes-Benz.
“Therefore, this facility is also a sym-
bol for our long term commitment to
this market. We strongly believe in the
further development of the economy in
Vietnam, as well as the growing automo-
tive market here as well as in the South
East Asian region.”
Mercedes-Benz is the only luxury
manufacturer to partially assemble ve-
hicles in Vietnam. CW
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