Fresh Paint
facility—to be named Mondi Kenosha—
in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. Thomas
Schäbinger, CEO of Mondi Coatings,
said that “this acquisition enables
Mondi Kenosha to add nearly 4. 8 billion
square feet of highly competitive capac-
ity and it will complement the existing
facilities in Menasha, Wisconsin and
Lancaster, Ohio.”
Mondi will purchase the 168,000
square foot building, 60 acres of land,
and other outstanding assets. The new
state-of-the-art facility provides ample
room for expansion and is an excellent
value in terms of building, land and
coating assets, initially including two
flexible, high-speed coating lines.
Mondi intends to develop the Kenosha
facility into Mondi’s leading plant for
specialized release liners in the rising
U.S. market and beyond.
RAL COLOURS INTENSIFY
SALES ACTIVITIES IN CHINA
As a consequence of booming demand
for Ral coloor samples in both the paint
manufacturing and paint processing
industries in China, Ral has significantly expanded its distribution network. Starting immediately, the entire
company’s coloor card program will be
marketed throughout China by Ocean
Power Color Technology Co., Ltd. With
headquarters in Shenzhen/Guangdong,
the company operates subsidiary
branch offices in Beijing, Shanghai and
Chengdu, as well as in a further 16
Chinese cities. Ral intends to consolidate and expand its position over the
coming years.
SIKA BUYS GREENSTREAK
Sika AG’s U.S. subsidiary, Sika
Corporation, has acquired the Green-
streak Group, Inc. Headquartered in
St. Louis, Missouri, annual revenues
for Greenstreak are approximately $30
million. Sika expects this acquisition
will further strengthen its leadership
position in the North American con-
struction industry. The acquired com-
pany has been manufacturing products
for the construction industry, including
a wide range of forming accessories,
engineered waterstops and joint seals,
doweling systems, architectural form
liners, and pipeline protections.
ULTRACHEM ACQUIRES
RW COATINGS
Ultrachem, a UK-based independent
consumables supplier and manufacturers of UV inks, water-based coatings
and pressroom chemistry, has bought
RW Coatings’ specialty manufacturing
business. The company’s clearcoat
range and brand names will continue
to be marketed independently through
John Russell to current dealers and
customers, Tim Webb, chairman of RW
Coatings, said. The coatings producer
would quit its Hertford base and move
to Ultrachem’s factory in Bristol, Webb
added. The coatings producer has concentrated the business focus on exports, which fits perfectly with the
ongoing strategy within operations,
said Tony Brinton, managing director
at Ultrachem. Both companies boast
sales of UK-made products to more
than 100 countries.
PU INDUSTRY IN EMEA TO GROW
By 2014 total production of poly-
urethane products is forecast to be
5,867,777 tons, equivalent to mean
growth of 2.9 percent per year over the
next years, despite concerns over GDP
growth. These and other findings are
published in IAL Consultants’ new
report, “Polyurethane Chemicals and
Products in Europe, Middle East and
Africa.” The eighth edition contains
both PU products production and raw
materials consumption figures with
2009 as the base year and market fore-
casts provided up until 2014. This new
study updates and expands upon the
information included in our previous
study in 2008. The information con-
tained within this report is based upon
an extensive program of interviews
throughout the industry. Of the three
regions considered, the polyurethane
industry remains the largest in Western
Europe, but growth rates are strongest
in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
SOUTHERN AFRICAN PAINTS
AND COATINGS MARKET TO GROW
The paints and coatings market in
South Africa earned revenues of $603
million in 2009 and estimates expect it
to reach $765.3 million by 2016. The
paints and coatings market is primarily driven by the construction sector.
The South African construction industry slowed down drastically during
2008 and 2009 due to the economic crisis, but started to recover gradually in
the third quarter of 2009. New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, entitled
“Southern African Paints and Coatings
Market,” finds the paints and coatings
market in Southern Africa is highly
fragmented with low barriers to entry.
Several small paint manufacturers are
establishing themselves in the market,
thus increasing the competition and
range of brands available. The products covered in this analysis include
decorative coatings, automotive and
refinish coatings, industrial protective
coatings and other coatings.
AKZONOBEL SETS AMBITIOUS
GROWTH PLANS FOR ASIA
AkzoNobel plans to double its current
revenue in China within five years. A
target of $3 billion has been set for
2015, with China poised to play an
integral role in the company’s strategic focus on the world’s growth
regions. “The importance of Asia, particularly China, has long been emphasized by our company and we are committed to expanding in the region, as
recent investments have shown,” said
AkzoNobel CEO Hans Wijers. “Not
only is China an important growth
engine, but it is also rapidly establishing itself as a great center of innovation. It’s moving from made in China,
