Bunch praises Lake Charles employees for ‘tremendous job’

Sept. 29, 2005 - PPG Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Chuck Bunch praised the job employees are doing to restore PPG’s Lake Charles, La., chemicals complex in the aftermath of Hurricane Rita.

Addressing Lake Charles plant manager Jon Manns, Bunch said, “I want to thank you and your entire team at Lake Charles. You’re doing a tremendous job under extremely difficult circumstances, and I’ve shared this with the entire board (of directors). Everyone’s behind you.”

Bunch’s comments came during this morning’s regularly scheduled teleconference with Lake Charles management and PPG’s crisis response unit (CRU) in Pittsburgh.

In related news, more than 1,000 of the approximately 1,400 Lake Charles employees have been accounted for through the HR Service Center, the HR Direct Internet site or on-site at the plant, according to Mary Lewis, director of human resources, chlor-alkali and derivatives.

She added PPG is mounting an effort to identify employees’ short- and long-term needs.

More than 160 employee volunteers rode out Rita at the complex and have been living, eating and sleeping there for seven days.