PITTSBURGH - PPG Industries has earned a fifth PACE Award in six years for its collaboration with General Motors on development of an environmentally friendly, color-specific powder primer. The primer is used on the 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt at the GM assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio.

The award was accepted by Dennis Kovalsky, PPG vice president, automotive OEM coatings; Bo Andersson, GM vice president, global purchasing and supply chain; and James Haverland, GM director, paint and polymers engineering.

The color-specific powder primer has a high-gloss finish and is tinted to match a vehicle's paint color. It provides a finished look for hard-to-paint areas such as inner surfaces of trunk and engine compartments, according to Rick Tansey, technical manager, PPG.

GM and PPG launched the joint-development effort five years ago to replace liquid-solvent primers with an environmentally friendly, cost-effective product. The annual PACE Award competition is sponsored by Automotive News magazine, Microsoft, SAP and the Transportation Research Center, Inc.