With over 30 nanotechnology
companies in their portfolio, Harris & Harris Group, Inc., is one
of the most active nanotechnology investors in the world.
AkzoNobel provides coating
protection for the San
Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge
Coatings supplied by International Paint
are being used for the east span of the
San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. The
east span had to be rebuilt after being
damaged by the Lorna Prieta earthquake
in 1989.
International Paint was selected as the
sole coatings supplier for the project by
Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industry Group
Ltd. (ZPMC), which supplied the steel
structures for the east span rebuild. The
sections were coated in China and shipped
to the U.S. for installation.
The project used a total of 500,000
liters of International coatings, including
inorganic zinc-rich primer Interzinc 22,
which provides long-term corrosion resistance; and Interfine 979 acrylic poly-siloxane finish, which gives excellent
color and gloss retention. The coatings
were manufactured at International
Paint’s factory in Suzhou and come with
a 20-year warranty.
A ceremony was organized at ZPMC’s
Changxing island base on to celebrate the
completion of the project. ZPMC chairman Xuezeng Kang announced that all
products had met the design standards
and passed U.S. inspection.
Benjamin Moore tops list of
interior paint suppliers
Benjamin Moore ranks highest in customer satisfaction with interior paint, according to the J.D. Power and Associates
2011 Interior Paint Satisfaction StudySM.
The premium brand earned an index score
of 791 on a 1,000-point scale, performing
best in three of the six key areas studied,
including application, product offerings
and design guides.
Now in its fifth year, the J.D. Power
and Associates consumer study on interior
paint satisfaction was based on more than
8,900 respondents who purchased and
applied interior paint within the previous
12 months.
“When independent research, such as
the J.D. Power and Associates Study, tells
us that consumers love and appreciate
Benjamin Moore paint, it’s tremendous
validation for the integrity and quality of
our products,” said Denis Abrams, chair-
man, president and CEO of Benjamin
Moore & Co. “What’s especially gratify-
ing about this study is that do-it-
yourselfers are voicing their preference.
Consistently, we hear from design profes-
sionals that Benjamin Moore is their brand
of choice, so it’s good to have such posi-
tive feedback from this other part of the
population that’s hands-on with paint.”
Benjamin Moore topped the brand
rankings of the study’s inaugural release
in 2007, and since then the company has
grown its product portfolio to include
green interior paint formulations includ-
ing Aura and Natura.
PPG acquires Colombian
coatings company
PPG Industries, through its subsidiary
PPG Colombia, has purchased the coatings businesses of Colpisa Colombiana de
Pinturas, a privately-owned Colombian
coatings company, and its affiliates, including Colpisa Ecuador. The transaction
is expected to close no later than the end
of the first quarter 2012.
Colpisa, based in Itagüi, near Medellin,
was founded in 1973 and manufactures
and distributes coatings for automotive
OEM and refinish, industrial and architectural coatings customers in Colombia
and Ecuador. Colpisa operates a coatings
manufacturing facility in Colombia and
employs approximately 400 people. The
company has been a technology licensee
of PPG automotive OEM coatings since
1996 and a distributor of PPG automotive
refinish products since 2004.
“By acquiring Colpisa, PPG builds on a
successful relationship and gains the opportunity to expand our coatings presence
in Colombia to directly serve and grow
with automotive manufacturers,” said Tim
Knavish, PPG vice president, automotive
OEM coatings, Americas. “PPG intends to
build upon Colpisa’s strong manufacturing
and distribution practices as the Colombian economy expands and more automo-
biles are built and sold in the region.”
According to Knavish, PPG would be-
come the only major global coatings sup-
plier with a direct automotive OEM
manufacturing presence in Colombia.
PPG currently has no manufacturing sites
in Colombia or Ecuador, but does supply
protective and marine coatings to the re-
gion, in addition to its technology and dis-
tribution relationship with Colpisa.
“As an automotive refinish coatings
leader, we are pleased to add Colpisa’s au-
tomotive refinish business to our global
portfolio,” said John Outcalt, PPG vice
president, global automotive refinish.
“This acquisition is further evidence of
PPG’s commitment to grow our coatings
presence in Latin America.”
According to Outcalt, by acquiring
Colpisa, PPG will become one of the
leading providers of a full line of auto-
motive refinish products in Colombia
with the ability to grow and serve local
customers through an established distri-
bution network.
RPM Wood Finishes acquires
Fuhr Industrial
The RPM Wood Finishes Group, a manufacturer of wood coatings and touch-up
and repair products, has acquired Fuhr Industrial, a provider of waterborne wood
coating products and technologies based
in Mansfield, Texas. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“Bringing Fuhr Industrial into our CCI
business unit will allow us to leverage our
strong relationships and manufacturing
capabilities with the technologies pro-
vided by Fuhr, further enhancing our po-
sition as an industry leader in the
industrial wood coatings market,” said
Ronnie Holman, president of the RPM
Wood Finishes Group. “The market
strengths of each company compliment
each other very well.”
“The combining of our waterborne
technologies with CCI’s industrial wood
coatings line better enables Fuhr to service
the North American wood coatings mar-
kets with our environmentally friendly
products,” said Adam Fuhr, president of
Fuhr Industrial.
The RPM Wood Finishes Group consists of CCI, Mohawk Finishing Products
