Pittsburgh, PA-based paints, coating and specialty materials maker PPG has completed the sale of its silicas business to QEMETICA for approximately $310 million.

PPG’s silicas business produces and supplies precipitated silica products as “performance-enhancing additives” to companies. The transaction includes PPG’s silica manufacturing plants in Lake Charles, LA, and Delfzijl, The Netherlands. The business is managed by around 400 employees and accounted for 1 to 2% of PPG’s 2023 total net sales, the company said in a Nov. 25 news release.

Poland-based QEMETICA is a manufacturer of soda ash, silicates and other specialty chemicals. QEMETICA will lease silicas’ Barberton, OH-based manufacturing facility, as well as its research and development facility in Monroeville, PA.

“We are pleased to complete this transaction with QEMETICA, and I want to thank the silicas products business employees for their dedication and commitment to the business and to PPG customers throughout the years,” PPG Chairman and CEO Tim Knavish said.

This follows PPG’s pending $550 million sale of its architectural coatings unit to American Industrial Partners, announced in mid-October.