Aurelie Carmona Bertin: Painting a School to Make Children Smile

Our plant in Moreuil, France, produces architectural coatings, including the RIPOLIN®, SEIGNEURIE® and GUITTET® brands. The plant is responsible not only for production but also for handling logistics and commercial activities to distribute their products across the whole country. All of these responsibilities fall under the dynamic leadership of our young plant manager, Aurelie. 

“Our paints are made locally in our plant. In Moreuil, our specialty is to produce a ready-mix color for the entire DIY market in France. We're the only one among our Architectural Coatings (AC) sites in France who is doing that.” 

Aurelie joined our company in 2017. Her professional journey led her through 8 distinct roles. During this period, she had the opportunity to gather experience in different SBUs. Aurelie first came to PPG through an internship while she was studying to become a mechanical engineer. Later on she had the chance to spend 6 months in Italy for the AC business, and also 6 months in France supporting the Automotive OEM business at the Saultain plant. 

"I joined the AC team in 2019 to be the coordinator for business process improvement (BPI) not just for Moreuil plant, but also for the whole AC South region, which, at that time, included France, Italy, Spain and Portugal." 

Aurelie's primary responsibilities include vigilance over potential production challenges. In addition, she orchestrates workshops, participates in meetings, and oversees different social projects. 

One of Aurelie's recent achievements was the successful realization of the first ever Colorful Communities project in Moreuil. 

Coloring a Space That Children Will Love 

The original initiative to realize a Colorful Communities project came from the former plant manager, Frederic Berullier, who spent 42 years working here. The project came to fruition at the Lucie Aubrac school in Moreuil, with collaborative support and sponsorship from the Moreuil town hall. 

In the next steps, Aurelie and her team selected the main artist and the theme of the wall painting. They opted for a supernatural motif, symbolizing diverse ways through which humans can safeguard their planet, trees and animals. 

"When I first visited this school, it felt so old fashioned. All the walls were yellow and seemed frozen in time. I am incredibly happy that I could help bring color to this school for the children who are spending so much time there." 

Bringing the Team Together 

Just before the children left for their summer break, they were able to witness the beginning of their school's remarkable transformation. 

“On Friday, we were starting with the painting just as some of the kids were going for lunch. On their way back, they saw what was happening and their eyes just lit up with excitement!” 

Aurelie rallied 60 volunteers, who dedicated a substantial portion of their weekend to assist her in this project, with 40 of them being colleagues. A total of 160 liters of Seigneurie premium paint were utilized to breathe life into the school's walls. 

"It was really nice to spend time with colleagues in a different way. Even my wife joined us to paint!" 

Aurelie candidly confesses how much she enjoyed taking part in painting the mural, as painting is one of her greatest hobbies also in personal life. 

To complement the environment-protection message this Colorful Communities project was conveying, remnants of the paints were used to decorate several benches in the school's grounds. Aurelie highlights the "bench of friendship", a creation commissioned by the school. "At the end of the event, we'll leave the rests of the paints at the school, so they can use them to decorate more benches within our city." 

The Best Advertisement 

The children will be able to discover the artwork in their school after they enter it on the first school day. Aurelie is very excited to see their, as well as their parents', reaction, as a special inauguration event will be held on September 15th! 

“PPG's Colorful Communities project has proved to be a perfect match for the town of Moreuil, supporting education and young people all together. We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to the employees and management of the factory located in Moreuil.” – Laëtitia Testart, local deputy mayor of education in Moreuil 

This Colorful Communities project was realized as part of the 'New Paint for a New Start' program that takes place during the summer months. Its main message is to help students start each day with a positive outlook and create joyful learning environments where students feel supported, and engaged. 

Aurelie emphasizes that beyond enriching the lives of the children, the Colorful Communities project in Moreuil serves as a positive publicity avenue for PPG. Given that the paints originate from the Moreuil plant, fostering local recognition of our logo and spreading our message is very advantageous. 

She is particularly #PPGProud that so many people came together for the sake of children, just to see their happiness. Above all, Aurelie highlights that this event has strengthened the bonds within her team, uniting them for a noble cause.