Coatings World - June 2011

PPG acquires Dyrup

PPG Industries has agreed to purchase Dyrup A/S of Copenhagen, Denmark, from public holding company Monberg & Thorsen, for approximately €135 million ($200 million). The deal is expected to close in the third quarter.

Dyrup produces architectural coatings, in particular wood stains, and specialty products with 2010 sales of approximately €190 million ($270 million). It employs roughly 950 people and operates six manufacturing facilities in Europe. Its portfolio of brands includes Bondex, Gori and Xylophene, which are sold primarily in Denmark, France, Germany, Portugal, Poland and Spain through professional and DIY channels.

“The acquisition of Dyrup would expand PPG’s European architectural coatings business by extending our geographic presence in the region and by bolstering our wood care product offerings, an end-user segment where we today have a modest presence,” said Pierre-Marie De Leener, PPG executive vice president, architectural coatings, EMEA, and president, PPG Europe.

De Leener said that anticipated syner-gies, including improved raw material procurement, are expected to result in Dyrup achieving EBITDA margins in the near term that will be at a level consistent with PPG’s existing European architectural business. “Dyrup’s operations and sales channels would be a great complementary fit with PPG’s structure,” he said. “The transaction will expand PPG’s growth in several key countries, including Poland, France and Denmark, and further establish PPG in several regions where we have limited or no architectural coatings presence, especially in Portugal, Spain and Germany.”

Hempel invests in first Russian
paint facility
The signing of an investment agreement
between Hempel and local government
officials in the Russian Ulyanovsk re-

gion marks its first Russian paint production facility.

With the signing of the investment agreement, the Hempel Group and the Ulyanovsk authorities have sealed their commitment to the € 23 million turnkey project to be built close to the city of Ulyanovsk, 893 kilometers east of Moscow.

Scheduled to start production in December 2012, the plant is meant to help meet growing demand for Hempel coatings in the Russian market.

“This will be our first Hempel factory
in Russia,” said company CFO Kim Junge
Andersen. “We’ve had a very good expe-
rience with our organization in Russia,
and they have become well-established in
the market. This plant will significantly in-
crease our ability to service our customers
in the region.”
The new plant will feature the latest in
environmentally-friendly coating produc-
tion equipment technology, including a
semi-automatic powder handling system,
an automatic liquid dosing system and a
solvent recovery unit.

Designed to house raw materials and the finished product under one roof, the one-building factory will occupy a 70,000 square meter plot. Under one-shift operation, the factory will produce 16. 3 million liters annually. If further capacity is required, the factory can operate with two shifts to raise production capacity to 26 million liters.

In order to meet local and Hempel Group environmental standards, all floors will be sealed to prevent soil contamination in the event of a spill, or to collect water in the event of a fire. Solvents that have been used in the production process will be recovered in a solvent recovery unit and recycled for future use. It is estimated that this method can recover up to 90 percent.

At present, Hempel has 310 products available on the Russian market. With the new factory, it is hoped that this number will expand six fold, with a mix of stan-

dard and specialized products for the local market, the company said.

“Expansion in the Russian market has been an important element in Hempel’s business strategy,” said Kim. “Our investment in this plant will be instrumental in meeting goals for our company as well as for our customers.”

AkzoNobel plans to split ICI
Pakistan

AkzoNobel will seek approval from the board and shareholders of ICI Pakistan to separate the organization’s paints and chemicals businesses.

AkzoNobel would retain direct majority control of the paints business by separating it into a new legal entity— AkzoNobel Pakistan Limited—through a de-merger process approved by the Pakistani courts. Subsequently, AkzoNobel would dispose of its entire shareholding in the remainder of ICI Pakistan.

The entire ICI Pakistan business has been a subsidiary of AkzoNobel since 2008, when the company acquired Imperial Chemical Industries. It is listed on the Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad Stock Exchanges, with AkzoNobel currently holding 75.8 percent of the total shares. Focusing primarily on the Pakistan market, ICI Pakistan’s main businesses are polyester fiber, soda ash, life sciences, chemicals and decorative paints. In 2010, ICI Pakistan’s revenue amounted to €305 million.

AkzoNobel’s intention is to seek a new owner for its shareholding in ICI Pakistan through a formal sale process once the paints business is separated.

Whitford opens factory in
Bangalore, India

Whitford, maker of fluoropolymer coatings, has continued to grow with its recently opened factory in Bangalore, one of India’s fastest-growing and most dynamic cities.