AkzoNobel and Jotun, two leaders in the global powder coatings market,
continue to develop cutting edge technology and expand their global footprints.
B
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EDITOR
Powder coating is a type of coating that is applied as a free-flowing, dry powder. The
main difference between a conven-
tional liquid paint and a powder
coating is that the powder coating
does not require a solvent to keep
the binder and filler parts in a liq-
uid suspension form. The coating is
typically applied electrostatically
and is then cured under heat to
allow it to flow and form a “skin”.
The powder may be a thermoplastic
or a thermoset polymer. It is usually
used to create a hard finish that is
tougher than conventional paint.
Powder coating is mainly used for
coating of metals, such as “white-
ware”, aluminium extrusions, and
automobile and bicycle parts. Newer
technologies allow other materials,
such as MDF (medium-density fibre-
board), to be powder coated using
different methods.
AkzoNobel has underscored its
ambition to double revenue in China
within the next five years by opening
its sixth powder coatings facility in
the country. The plant is located in the
Wuhan Economic and Technological
Development Zone, a major industrial
and manufacturing hub in central
China.
The new factory will manufacture
AkzoNobel Powder Coatings’ flagship
Interpon range of products and joins
the business’ five existing sites in
Shenzhen, Langfang, Ningbo, Suzhou
and Chengdu.
“China is fundamental to our new
sustainable growth strategy and this
sixth plant is the latest in a series of
new facilities AkzoNobel has inaugu-
rated in the region,” said Leif Darner,
the board member responsible for the
company’s performance coatings
activities. “Our ambitions for China
are clear and we are committed to
achieving them.”
The Wuhan facility’s current produc-
tion capacity is 4,000 tons per year and
can be further expanded. The addition-
al capacity boosts AkzoNobel’s ability
to meet growing demand in what is one
of the largest powder coatings markets
in the world.
China has the fastest growth rate in
the world in terms of powder coatings
demand. “This demand is being driven
by a number of factors, especially the
rapid pace of urbanization and the
associated growth of the housing, con-
struction and automotive sectors,” said
Rob Molenaar, managing director of
AkzoNobel Powder Coatings. “By tak-
ing advantage of these trends, our own
activities have achieved strong growth
in recent years.
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