What does PPG represent in today's world and what are your key goals as a company in 2024
DB: PPG stands for protecting and beautifying the world, delivering coating systems and services that enhance and preserve customer products. Our coatings are omnipresent, found on everyday items like computers and eyeglasses to walls and vehicles. For 2024, our focus is on productivity and sustainability. We aim to enable sustainability through our products by improving their lifespan and delivering energy efficiency, thereby enhancing aesthetic durability and reducing environmental impact.
As the largest paints and coatings company in the world, what are the key drivers of product innovation right now?
DB: Product innovation is crucial due to evolving market demands and sustainability challenges. For instance, we're launching a campaign to introduce a new range of architectural coatings that not only meet high sustainability standards but also maintain the quality attributes customers value, such as color fastness and hiding power. These innovations address the rising costs of sustainable materials and strive to offer them at competitive price points, akin to the market dynamics affecting electric vehicles.
Our sustainability drive is powered by our own drive for environmental excellence, customer demand and regulatory requirements. The EU Green Deal and SEC sustainability mandates are pushing large businesses to adopt sustainable practices, a significant aspect of which involves our products. We've seen positive responses in market tests in France, where consumers preferred our sustainably advantaged options. Moreover, our advancements in paint technology significantly contribute to reducing our B2B customers' environmental footprints, aligning with their sustainability goals.
Moving from Emerson to PPG, why did you take that opportunity and why is it important that industry now implements AI and digital expertise in-house?
BB: The chemical industry lags in digital transformation, and my role at PPG is to propel us into the top tier of digital adoption. Using my experience from Emerson, where I focused on digital customer engagement, I aim to enhance PPG's impact across a wide range of industries. The potential to improve the work of millions of engineers, architects, and designers through digital tools and AI is a significant motivator for me.
What is your key strategy for enhancing customer experience at PPG?
BB: Our current strategy focuses on enhancing the customer experience, particularly through digital channels. We are improving our e-commerce capabilities to make it easier for B2B customers to find part numbers, check prices, and make purchases online. Additionally, we are modernizing our mobile applications to support customers who are mobile and need efficient access to our products and services. These initiatives are foundational, aiming to improve engagement and streamline interactions with our products.
How are you integrating AI into your operations, especially in automotive paint production?
BB: AI integration is a significant part of our strategy to enhance operational efficiency and product quality. In our automotive paint facilities, we've reduced the production cycles for paint batches significantly, from eight cycles down to two. This acceleration not only speeds up the delivery to customers but also enhances the quality of the paint. We're planning to extend these data science and AI capabilities across our portfolio to improve formulation processes and customer interactions in various markets.
DB: Color consistency is critical in automotive manufacturing, where color changes for each car on the assembly line are frequent. Our team plays a crucial role in managing these changes and ensuring consistency, which involves a lot of precise work and is tuned almost in real-time. In our refinish business that supports collision shops, AI and machine learning are integral in systems like our LINQ and Moonwalk systems, which help in accurately matching and producing the paint color needed for vehicle repairs, enhancing both speed and quality of service.
How do you handle the vast data from customer interactions to drive product innovation at PPG?
BB: Managing and translating customer data into actionable insights for product innovation is challenging due to the unique needs of each customer. Our digital strategy is focused on building a robust foundation that allows customers to easily interact with our experts. Tools like AI-driven chatbots are part of our roadmap to streamline these interactions. By enhancing direct communication, we can better understand and meet customer needs, which in turn informs and drives our product innovation processes.
Looking towards the future, can you share any exciting innovations from PPG's R&D lab?
DB: Our R&D efforts are geared towards integrating productivity and sustainability into our products. A key area of focus is the functionality of our coatings, such as improving dielectric performance, which is increasingly important in today's technology-driven environment. This involves engineering coatings that can provide better electrical insulation and heat management, critical for devices like electric vehicles and power equipment.
What excites you most about PPG's future, and what can we expect in three years?
BB: I am excited about the transformative potential of AI in the chemical industry, similar to its impact on the pharmaceutical sector. We are piloting AI-driven capabilities to speed up product development and address specific customer needs more effectively. Over the next three years, I anticipate that PPG will lead in applying AI to enhance our product offerings and customer experiences, focusing on sustainability and protection.
DB:
The shift towards sustainability and advanced functionality in our products will define our future. The ability to add features that allow for dematerialization and enhanced efficiency will be key. As we continue to integrate AI and innovate, I look forward to a time where every product we create is not only sustainable but also embedded with advanced features that significantly impact the way we live and work.
