PPG Industries has hired David Knapp as senior manager of its MVP Business Solutions group. Knapp has more than 15 years of process improvement, business development and strategic marketing experience in the collision industry. His experience includes nearly every aspect of collision repair center management including finance, marketing, process consulting, parts control and strategic planning. Prior to joining PPG, Knapp held positions at Akzo Nobel Coatings and CARSTAR.

Knapp entered the collision repair industry at the age of 14 working as a detailer in a body shop in Omaha, Neb. He continued through high school and college, gaining experience as a light body technician and painter. While working, Knapp earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing and public relations. He then continued his studies and received a Master of Business Administration degree.

“We are very excited to welcome David to the PPG team and are looking forward to the contribution his diverse collision industry background will make,” said Jim Berkey, director of MVP Business Solutions.  “This addition demonstrates our ongoing commitment to the strength and effectiveness of PPG’s value-added programs that are so critical to maintaining competitiveness in the industry today.”

At NACE, Knapp will conduct an MVP Business Solutions seminar entitled “Competing in the 21st Century,” which will explore industry and business challenges facing owners and managers of collision repair shops and explain how focusing on critical success factors can improve a shop’s ability to gain a competitive advantage in quality, throughput and cost. The seminar is scheduled for Nov. 5 at 1:30 p.m.

David, his wife Barbara, and their sons Preston and Andrew, reside in Orange County, California.