PPG has completed the acquisition of automotive paint manufacturer Heimerat

On April 17, PPG, the global paint giant, announced that it had completed its acquisition of Hemmelrath, the automotive paint maker. "This acquisition is another step in our strategic growth plan and will provide further value to our customers and shareholders." Michael McGarry, chairman and CEO of PPG, said earlier.

Heimerat was founded in 1946, headquartered in Klingenberg, Germany, is a family-owned OEM coating manufacturer for automobiles. The company has more than 450 employees and has established production bases in Germany, the United States, Russia, Spain, Brazil, South Africa, China and other countries. Heimerrat provides painting products for more than 40 automotive factories and more than 7 million vehicles worldwide, mainly supporting high-end models such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Audi, Volvo and Porsche.

Painting reporters noted that in August 2016, German Heimerrat signed an investment agreement with Jilin Economic Development Zone Management Committee for an annual production of 10,000 tons of automotive coatings, and established Heimerrat Automotive Coatings (Jilin) Co., Ltd. The total investment of the project is 104 million yuan, and sales revenue is expected to reach 150 million yuan after putting into operation. This is also the first project of German Heimerrat to invest in the R&D center and production base of automotive coatings in China, which entered the trial production stage in February 2019.

According to the data disclosed by Heimerat's official website, the company currently has 480 employees and about 107 million euros in revenue. According to Coatings Industry's "Top 100 Coatings Companies in the World in 2018", Heimerat ranked 50th with sales revenue of 347.2 million US dollars (about 2.26 billion RMB) in 2017.

"The agreement between Heimerat and PPG is complementary. The acquisition will enhance PPG's automotive paint products, and increase formulation and manufacturing solutions. Rebecca Liebert, senior vice president of PPG Automotive Coatings, said earlier. Journalists noted that PPG has announced six acquisitions in the past year, including recent SEM, Whitford and Hemmelrat acquisitions. According to the annual report, PPG achieved net sales of about 15.4 billion US dollars in 2018, of which automotive paint (including automotive repair paint) sales of about 4.6 billion US dollars, automotive OEM paint ranked first in the world, and automotive repair paint ranked second in the world.