AkzoNobel Performance Coatings has
announced plans to invest €2.5 mil-
lion to expand its plant in Cikarang,
Indonesia. The investment will add
capacity to help meet growing de-
mand for the company’s International
brand products, which are supplied by
the Protective Coatings and Marine
Coatings businesses. The project is ex-
pected to be completed by April 2015.
“The local market has been expand-
ing over the last three years,” explained
Mauricio Bannwart, managing director
of AkzoNobel’s Protective Coatings busi-
ness. “Further growth is now anticipated
as Indonesia seeks to improve its position
in the petrochemical and power sectors,
while an improvement in marine new
build is also anticipated.”
News of the expansion comes after
AkzoNobel recently invested a total of € 5
million to add capacity for both its Marine
Coatings and Protective Coatings business-
es in Singapore and Sunshine, Australia.
AkzoNobel Performance Coatings
Adds Capacity in Indonesia
PPG Foundation Donates $10,000 to Frontiers of Flight Museum
The PPG Industries Foundation has donated $10,000 to the
Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas, TX to support a new science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education
program for 6th- through 12th-grade students from two public
all-girls schools in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. The grant for the
Young Women’s STEM Leadership Initiative was made on behalf
of PPG Industries’ Dallas-area aerospace application support
center in Grand Prairie, Texas.
The two partnering schools, Dallas Independent School
District’s Irma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School and
Grand Prairie Independent School District’s Young Women’s
Leadership Academy, emphasize leadership as well as STEM
education for students mostly from low-income areas. The new
Frontiers of Flight Museum program encourages underserved
female students to increase their knowledge of STEM-related
principles in aerospace and their awareness of and interest in
aerospace and related careers through experimentation and
hands-on learning, while also offering them leadership skill-building opportunities.
“Thanks to the PPG foundation’s support for our Young
Women’s STEM Leadership Initiative, the Frontiers of Flight
Museum is better able to meet the accelerated demand for
STEM education programs and to inspire and empower young
women across North Texas,” said Cheryl Sutterfield-Jones, chief
executive officer, Frontiers of Flight Museum. “Statistics suggest
there is tremendous growth opportunity for young women in
STEM-related education and careers. In partnering with these
two schools, the museum aims to increase girls’ understanding
of aerospace and interest in related careers while instilling confi-
dence in STEM-focused skills.”
Through the new initiative, more than 600 students will par-
ticipate in guided tours of the Frontiers of Flight Museum and
in on-site and outreach educational programming. The initiative
also will include special events during Engineers Week and a
one-week immersive camp during spring break offering girls an
in-depth STEM-focused experience. The initiative also includes
paid internship opportunities for 10 upper-class students to as-
sist teachers with spring break camp and 16 internships and 10
scholarships for the museum’s Flight School Summer Camp.
“PPG and its foundation believe the aerospace industry ben-
efits from educational programs like this one that interest young
people in pursuing science- and math-related careers by engag-
ing them in fun activities,” said Kevin Brooks, business manager
of PPG’s aerospace application support center near Dallas. “We
are happy to support the Frontiers of Flight Museum in helping
girls in the Dallas area develop technical literacy that will help
them become better-skilled employees serving companies such
as PPG and their communities in the future.”
