Coatings World - July 2011

Benjamin Moore
Montvale, New Jersey/USA
www.benjaminmoore.com

PRIVATE COMPANY
YEAR ESTABLISHED: 1883
REVENUE: $695 million
MARKETS SERVED
• Architectural coatings
• Wood coatings
KEY EXECUTIVES
Denis Abrams, president and CEO;
Jim Megin, VP finance, CIO and
treasurer; Barry Cladwick, VP mar-
ket development and product; Ken
Marino, VP supply chain.

30Forbo Baar, Switzerland www.forbo.com

PUBLIC COMPANY YEAR ES TABLISHED: 1928

REVENUE: $562 million
MARKETS SERVED
• Industrial adhesives

KEY EXECUTIVES Albert Gnagi, chairman of the board of directors; Michel Riva, executive VP, bonding systems.

During the year Benjamin Moore and Constellation Energy in- augurated a new solar power system that is expected to gen- erate 68 percent of the electricity needs for Benjamin Moore's 80,000 square foot product development center and testing laboratories. The solar power system at the company's Flanders, NJ, R&D facility comprises 8,600 crystalline photovoltaic solar panels, making it one of the largest on-site solar power systems in the state. Benjamin Moore & Co. teamed with the retail division of Constellation Energy to develop the 1.7-megawatt system. Under a 20-year solar power purchase agreement, Benjamin Moore is providing the land and will purchase all of the electricity from the solar panels. Constellation Energy will build, own and maintain the system. It estimates that using non-renewable sources to generate the same amount of electricity expected to be produced by the new solar installation would result in the release of tons of carbon dioxide.

Forbo’s Bonding Systems business unit is among the world’s lead- ing suppliers of industrial adhesives. The unit recorded sales of $562 million in 2010. The division installed a new production line for thermoplastic hotmelts for the packaging industry in Spain and built a new assembly line for parquet adhesives in its building and construction adhesives business in Germany. In fall 2010, Bonding Systems inaugurated its new production plant for industrial adhesives in Guangzhou, southern China, where there is also a new research and development center for the whole Asian region. Bonding Systems also developed a new generation of water-based adhesives for high-speed applications in processing folding cartons. Also a thermoplastic polyolefin hotmelt was developed for the packaging industry that adheres at lower temperatures than conventional adhesives. The building and construction adhesives business launched new applications with low-dust products for leveling compounds and ceramic tiles.

31
Helios
Domzale, Slovenia
www.helios.si

PUBLIC COMPANY
YEAR ESTABLISHED: 1924
REVENUE: $386 million
MARKETS SERVED
• Decorative coatings
• Car refinishes
• Metal coatings
KEY EXECUTIVES
Uros Slavinec, president; Marko
Vresk, vice president; Branko Pas,
vice president.

32
Freeworld Coatings
Johannesburg,
South Africa
www.freeworldcoatings.com

PUBLIC COMPANY
YEAR ESTABLISHED: 1891
REVENUE:
$379 million
MARKETS SERVED
• Decorative coatings
• Performance coatings
KEY EXECUTIVES
Bobby Godsell, chairman; Andre
Lamprecht, CEO.

Helios Group is the leading manufacturer of coatings in South Eastern Europe with approximately 3,000 employ- ees in more than thirty companies in fourteen countries and recorded sales of $386 million in 2010. Recently Helios strengthened its operations in Slovenia and opened a car refinishing coatings center and a production plant for water-based coatings in Domzale. The coatings manufacturer also opened a center for metal coatings in Medvode, Slovenia. Helios invested € 14 million in the three projects. Additional resources will be invested in the production plant for water-based coatings and the car refinishing coatings center until 2012. Currently the production capacity of decorative and car refinishing water-based coatings is 500 tons per month.

After a year of bitter opposition, a competition watchdog recently approved Kansai Paint’s $260 million takeover bid of Free- world Coatings. This deal represents a significant push into the continent for Japan’s largest paint and coatings maker with $2.4 billion in sales revenue. Despite more than 90 percent of Freeworld shareholders indicating they favored the takeover, the company had bitterly opposed the offer since Kansai made it in April last year. South Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry made a submission to the commission asking that the takeover be prohibited on the grounds that the paint market was highly concentrated, and it constituted a threat to the government’s localization drive. The commission agreed with the department and gave the green light to the transaction on the condition that Kansai divested the automotive coatings business it operated in a joint venture with DuPont, as it would create a “forum for collusion.” According to the deal, Kansai must manufacture decorative coatings in South Africa for 10 years; establish a manufacturing facility within five years and invest in local research and development.