PPG takes stock of natural disasters
With a strong presence in areas hit by recent hurricanes, flooding and earthquakes, PPG announced Monday that its employees in Texas, Florida, Mexico and Puerto Rico are safe.
The company released a statement on Monday morning, breaking down the personal and corporate impact of the disasters. Many employees suffered significant property damage, and the company itself was impacted by damaged stores, lost inventory, and transportation costs.
“We have all witnessed the devastation caused by the recent hurricanes that originated in the Atlantic Ocean and the earthquakes that occurred in Mexico. Our thoughts remain with those who are affected and working to rebuild their lives and communities,” said Michael McGarry, PPG chairman and CEO. “We have been closely monitoring the impacts on our employees in Texas, Florida and adjacent states, Mexico, Puerto Rico and other parts of the Caribbean. While the property damage in these areas has been severe, we are relieved that all of our employees are safe. We will continue to support our employees and the impacted communities during the recovery and rebuilding efforts, including making contributions to the American Red Cross from the PPG Foundation. We are also matching PPG employee contributions and working directly with those employees who have experienced significant personal property damage or loss. Our employees throughout PPG continue to demonstrate their commitment to helping in times of need.
“PPG has a strong presence in all impacted areas, including more than 100 architectural coatings company-owned stores, approximately 1,600 concessionaire stores in Mexico, various distribution centers, manufacturing facilities and administrative offices,” McGarry added. “In addition, we have many valued customers and suppliers throughout these areas. Some of our properties have sustained damage, and there will be a certain amount of inventory that will not be recoverable. Our teams are working to assess the full range of the damage, and we are working diligently to resume normal operations. More impactful to PPG has been the disruption of our supply chain, as certain key raw materials have been placed on force majeure or allocation and supply routes have been interrupted. This has had a sizable ripple effect on many of our operations throughout the U.S. and Mexico, as we remain committed to supplying our customers.”
From a business perspective, the short-term impact of the disasters will take the form of increased transportation and logistics costs. The company expects that net impacts from these events to its fourth quarter financial results will be negligible or very modest.
