Powder Coatings Reach
On the heels of AkzoNobel’s recently announced
plans to acquire Dow Chemical’s powder coatings
business, Coatings World spoke with Rob Molenaar,
managing director of AkzoNobel Powder Coatings,
about the transaction as well as the state of the
global powder coatings market.
BY TIM WRIGHT
EDITOR
Already the world’s largest man- ufacturer of powder coatings, AkzoNobel has enhanced its
portfolio after signing an agreement
with Dow Chemical to acquire its powder coatings activities.
The deal will bring key technological
know-how and synergy to AkzoNobel
Powder Coatings, as well as enhance
the company’s position in the U.S.
The powder coatings activities were
purchased by Dow earlier this year as
part of its acquisition of Rohm & Haas.
Rohm & Haas’ powder coatings business had revenue of $330 million in
2008 and ranked No. 37 in Coatings
World’s Top Companies Report (see
July ‘09 issue).
With more than 80 yeas of powder
coating experience Rohm & Haas
was one of the original innovators in
the field. Its markets included automotive, industrial, consumer and
general metal products.
At the time of the announcement,
Leif Darner, the AkzoNobel board
member responsible for the company’s
performance coatings segment, said
in a statement, “This is a strategic
acquisition, which will enable us to
further penetrate key industrial coatings segments. By adding new powder
technologies to our extensive portfolio
we will be even better equipped to
lead the way in meeting increasing
demand for innovative products with
AKZONOBEL POWDER COATINGS AT A GLANCE
AkzoNobel is the world’s largest manufacturer of powder coatings. AkzoNobel Powder Coatings is part of company’s performance coatings segment. In 2008 AkzoNobel’s industrial activities, which is the largest segment in
the performance coatings group and combines AkzoNobel Industrial Finishes and AkzoNobel Powder Coatings
together, reported sales of approximately $2.75 billion. Total coatings sales for AkzoNobel, including decorative
paints, marine and protective coatings, car refinishes, packaging coatings, and industrial activities, amounted
to roughly $14 billion. As the largest manufacturer of powder coatings,
AkzoNobel is also a leader in powder coatings technology and a top supplier to the appliance, architectural, automotive, furniture and IT markets, amongst others. On a smaller scale, its non-stick coatings also help
make high-performance kitchenwear. AkzoNobel Powder Coatings has
more than 30 manufacturing plants and a global marketing strategy fine tuned to meet local needs. It promotes
primarily two global brands—Interpon and Resicoat. Interpon Powder Coatings are solvent-free paints which can
be applied to metal and other conductive surfaces. Applications include appliance; architectural; automotive; furniture; general industry; general trade coaters; and IT. Under the Resicoat brand, AkzoNobel’s functional powder
coatings specialize in high performance coatings for anti-corrosion and electrical insulation. Applications
include electrical insulation; valves and fittings; pipelines (internal and external); and rebar.
