Shares of PPG are up about 20 percent this year, and a big reason is the company’s thriving refinish business.

During a recent appearance on CNBC’s “Mad Money,” CEO Michael McGarry told host Jim Cramer that automotive refinish has been “a very good business” for the Pittsburgh-based paint manufacturer.

“It’s all driven by technology,” McGarry said. “We help the body shops repair cars faster, we help them color match faster and better, and that has driven increased business for us.”

PPG has converted more body shops from solvent-based paint to waterborne paint than the rest of the refinish industry combined, according to McGarry.

McGarry explained that more miles driven and increased congestion – both of which come from an improving job market – are catalysts for growth in the collision repair industry.

“We also are helped by distracted driving,” McGarry said. “It’s not good for people, but it has been good for our business.”

PPG CEO: We’re ‘well-positioned’ to win from the rise of electric cars from CNBC.