PPG Announces Expansion of Resin Production in Mexico

PPG Industries plans to expand domestic production of low-emission resins at its Tepexpan facility in the State of Mexico. The investment, directed toward one of PPG’s five manufacturing sites in the country, aims to boost resin output and lessen dependence on imports from the United States, Asia, and Germany. This strategic move comes in response to increasing tariffs on Asian raw materials and ongoing structural limitations within Mexico’s petrochemical industry.

Adriana Macouzet, Vice President, PPG Industries Latin America, says the expansion is also intended to improve supply chain agility ahead of the next review of the USMCA. She adds that Mexico faces a significant deficit in specialized petrochemicals. According to the National Association of the Chemical Industry (ANIQ), the country imports about 5.7 million metric t of synthetic resins and exports 1.577 million metric t, resulting in a net deficit of roughly 4.1 million metric t.

Headquartered in Pennsylvania with nearly 140 years of global operations, PPG has maintained a strong presence in Mexico for almost seven decades. The company produces coatings and resins that serve a wide range of industries, including automotive, architectural, aerospace, packaging, construction, energy, electronics, and consumer goods.

A key element of PPG’s growth strategy in Mexico is the adoption of advanced, sustainable coating technologies aimed at reducing environmental impact and lowering operating costs for customers. These innovations enable significant energy savings by decreasing the temperatures needed to heat paint during the curing process—the most energy-intensive stage of automotive coating. In this phase, fully assembled vehicles move through large industrial ovens, often at production rates of up to 60 units per hour.

“With the new technologies we develop, we have paints that can be cured at lower temperatures or that do not require heat during application,” Macouzet says. “These processes reduce energy consumption and help automakers lower their carbon footprint while improving efficiency.”

Source: Mexico Business News