PILLAR AWARD FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE
Theodore Ladd
Plant manager
PPG Industries – Barberton
www.ppg.com
Established in 1899 to manufacture synthetic soda ash for the Pittsburgh-based PPG Industries’ glass-making operations, PPG Industries – Barberton is a producer of quality specialty chemicals and products. Throughout its 113-year history, the one thing PPG has stressed more than its leading innovations is giving back to the community.
In Barberton, where PPG employs 150 people, plant manager Theodore Ladd makes sure that the community understands the connection PPG has to the region. One of the biggest ways the company gives back is through its PPG Industries Foundation, which has generously contributed millions of dollars to organizations that address the educational, human services, cultural and arts, and civic and community affairs needs of the people and regions PPG serves.
One such area donation was $15,000 to Stark State College for its Barberton Satellite Center. A $5,000 donation in 2012 and a $10,000 grant this year were made on behalf of PPG Industries – Barberton. The center features state-of-the-art equipment for training in welding and offers a range of academic classes leading to two-year associate’s degrees.
PPG Industries – Barberton also had 13 of its employees step forward to volunteer their time to support Junior Achievement’s JA in a Day program at Barberton Middle School. The volunteers taught young people about money management and how business works.
Related to the work that PPG does every day, the company also sponsors local teachers attending the Ohio Chemistry and Technology Council’s annual Teachers, Industry and Environmental Conference. The two-day program offers teachers exposure to creative and dramatic approaches to teaching the principals of physics, chemistry and life sciences. ●
