PPG Industries’ industrial coatings business has announced that Weaber Lumber Company’s new line of Finish Coat interior trim products are protected by Aqualink coatings, a revolutionary, engineered, baked-on coating developed by PPG to bring exterior durability and factory-controlled finishes to interior wood trim and moulding.

Weaber Lumber’s Finish Coat trim products protected by Aqualink coatings are specially engineered to deliver a consistent factory finish on primed and painted mouldings and S4S (surfaced four sides) boards made from American poplar, an abundant hardwood often used for interior applications.

Brian Knapp, PPG coil and building products director, industrial coatings, said PPG worked closely with Weaber Lumber Company to select a coating that would give the Finish Coat line a distinct performance advantage over competing products. “Weaber and PPG chose Aqualink water-based coatings for this product development because they are extremely hard, chemical resistant and safe for the environment,” he explained.

Matt Weaber, president and chief executive officer of Weaber Lumber Company, said Aqualink coatings enable his company to manufacture a one-of-a-kind product that saves his customers time and money. “Because of their hard-cure Aqualink coatings, our Finish Coat products offer builders, carpenters and other professionals an industry first: labour-saving, ready-to-install, factory-quality hardwood trim that is designed to keep its perfectly coated showroom finish for years to come.”

Designed for building product applications, Aqualink single- and dual-component water-based coatings feature optimal pencil hardness and solid chemical resistance in an environmentally-friendly low-VOC (volatile organic compound) and NMP-free formulation. They are engineered to meet a variety of American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) and Window and Door Manufacturers Association (WDMA) standards.

PPG Industries says its vision is to continue to be the world’s leading coatings and specialty materials company. Through leadership in innovation, sustainability and colour, PPG helps customers in industrial, transportation, consumer products, and construction markets and aftermarkets to enhance more surfaces in more ways than does any other company. Founded in 1883, PPG has its global headquarters in Pittsburgh and operates in nearly 70 countries around the world. Reported net sales in 2013 were $15.1 billion. PPG shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol: PPG).

The Weaber business was established more than 70 years ago with the setting up of a hardwood manufacturing plant in the Appalachian forest of Pennsylvania.   Throughout the 1970s and early1980s the company established premier programmes in oak and poplar by making key investments in kilns and pre-dryers and cutting edge  technology to increase grade recovery.

In the mid-1980s, the company instituted a regional distribution system to service less-than-truckload lots from Virginia to New York state. Another major expansion followed in 1990 moving the company into the hardwood moulding and dimension markets, reflecting the modernisation and vertical growth the company had planned. In 2004, a new distribution centre was purchased enabling the company’s expansion into the hardwood flooring market. A high-tech state-of-the-art flooring mill was installed and Weaber Lumber became a trusted quality producer in this sector of the hardwood industry.