Coatings World - July 2010

Fresh Paint
former ICI —was taken over by
AkzoNobel as part of its acquisition
of ICI in January 2008. While it was
regarded as an excellent business,
according to AkzoNobel, the board
concluded that National Starch did
not offer sufficient opportunity to
create value within the company’s
transformed coatings and specialty
chemicals portfolio. In April 2010, it
was announced that AkzoNobel had
received renewed expressions of
interest in National Starch, which
had accordingly been reclassified as
a discontinued operation. National
Starch is a recognized innovator in
food ingredients and specialty
starches. The company had 2009 rev-
enue of $1.2 billion from sales of spe-
cialty starches to both local and
multinational customers in the food,
papermaking, consumer and indus-
trial markets. It has 2,250 employees
around the world and operates 11
plants in eight countries.

Friesenheimer Insel area of Mann-
heim, Germany, that will begin produc-
tion in July 2010 and will supply elec-
tro-deposition coating (e-coat) on trac-
tor components for Germany’s leading
manufacturer of agricultural equip-
ment, John Deere.

RPM ACQUIRES NORWEGIAN FLOOR COATINGS BUSINESS RPM International’s Performance Coatings Group has acquired Hummervoll Industribelegg AS, a supplier and installer of industrial flooring systems based in Bergen, Norway, with annual sales of more than $11 million. Hummervoll, founded in 1980 by Per Hummervoll, serves both onshore and offshore markets with its concrete- and epoxy-based flooring systems. Its onshore division primarily focuses on the food, manufacturing and chemical industries. The offshore division provides flooring solutions for oil platforms, barricade decks and emergency escape routes.