Siemens LDA DT is a global supplier of motors, drives and motion control devices that service the oil, gas, natural gas & pipeline, utilities, off shore oil and nuclear markets.  Siemens LDA has locations in US, China, Brazil, Germany, India, and Russia with their focus on the assembly of Variable Frequency Drives (VFD’s).

 

David Rae, a Senior Buyer at the New Kensington PA division, recalls his first encounter with PPG as somewhat strange.  As the story goes, Dave received a phone call from a PPG sales rep that said "he was driving down the road and saw one of Siemens large drive systems rolling down the road on the back of a Low hauler truck and wanted to know if he was satisfied with their paint supplier."  That was the beginning of a lasting relationship.

 

Dave went on to tell the PPG sales rep that their company has had many problems with aesthetics in the past and that "multiple components must come together to form a complete system.  The transformer and multiple control cabinets are manufactured by several vendors that are located in Canada, Ohio, Michigan and New Jersey.  Once these cabinets are assembled as one unit, it is essential that the paint on every cabinet from each supplier is aligned throughout the final product.”

 

PPG responded to Siemens' needs by coordinating the manufacturing, distribution, and quality control of the color and texture of the liquid paint, the powder coatings, and even their touch up paint.

 

Barry Byers, Senior Buyer at the New Kensington facility, confirmed that even though Siemens does not paint their components directly, they have recognized potential cost savings by reducing the amount of rework needed, along with reducing direct material cost for the various types of paints.

 

Dave said that "the program launched June 1, 2009 and we have not had a color problem since and that paint is just one less headache to worry about."

 

Siemens and PPG have more in common than just both being global companies and that is a dedication and commitment to servicing their customer's needs.