Coatings World - July 2012

The Valspar Corporation
Minneapolis, Minnesota/USA
www.valsparglobal.com

PUBLIC COMPANY
YEAR ESTABLISHED: 1806
REVENUE: $3.704 billion ; (2010: $3.0bn )

MARKETS SERVED
• Architectural coatings
• General industrial
• Coil coatings
• Wood coatings
• Automotive refinish
KEY EXECUTIVES
Gary Hendrickson, president and CEO; Rolf Engh,
executive VP, general counsel and secretary; Steven
Erdahl, executive VP; Anthony Blaine, senior VP;
Howard Heckes, senior VP; Lori Walker, senior VP
and CFO; Brian Falline, goup VP; Bernard Ouimette,
senior VP; Roeland Polet, senior VP.

Valspar’s sales for the year increased 22. 5 percent to $3.704bn. In the Coatings segment, sales increased 15 per- cent while sales in the Paints segment increased 37 percent.

Through its Paints segment Valspar offers a wide variety of products such as paints, primers, topcoats and aerosol spray paints sold primarily through retailers and distribution networks. It sells branded and other products in the Paints segment, including Valspar, Cabot, Huarun, DeBeer and House of Kolor. This segment includes architectural and automotive refinish product lines.

The Coatings segment includes a broad range of decorative and protective coatings for metal, wood and plastic, primarily for sale to original equipment manufacturing (OEM) customers.

Products within the Coatings segment include primers, top coats, varnishes, inks, sprays, stains, fillers and other coatings used by customers in a wide range of manufacturing industries, including building products, appliances, furniture, transportation, agricultural and construction equipment, metal packaging and metal fabrication.

Valspar acquired Brazil’s Isocoat Tintas e Vernizes Ltda., located in Araçariguama, in São Paulo state, strengthening Latin American sales of powder, liquid and electrodeposition coatings.

Isocoat, which began business producing electrostatic dust coatings, had sales of $34 million in 2010, and has the capacity to produce 10,000 metric tons of product per year, according to a company report. Among its export markets are Argentina and Colombia. Isocoat is a leader in the industry in Brazil and was the first Brazilian dust coatings company to gain certification from Qualicoat under the Zurich-based Association for Quality Control in Lacquering, Painting and Coating Industry.

Valspar’s powder coating brands in Brazil include Poliéster TGIC, Poliéster Epóxi Híbrido, Epóxi and Poliéster Uretano. The company also markets Vectrogard electrocoatings.

Elsewhere in Latin America, Valspar has a subsidiary in Mex-

Valspar promoted Gary Hendrickson to president and CEO, succeeding William Mansfield.

ico. Valspar Mexicana, S.A. de C.V. brands include Valspar, EzDex, EcoDex, Duraspar, Valflex, Fluropon, Dynaprime, Green-bar and Vectrogard.

Valspar also opened a new research and development center in Shunde, China. The Valspar Applied Science and Technology Center will employ over 200 scientists to support the continued growth of Valspar in Asia Pacific and Valspar's research and development on a global basis. Valspar's 2011 sales in Asia Pacific were $1 billion. Nearly half of the sales in the Asia Pacific region are in China, where Valspar currently has five manufacturing facilities. Valspar produces and sells high-quality coatings for numerous end-markets in China, including consumer paints, food and beverage packaging, shipping containers, furniture, building products, and agricultural and construction equipment.

New product innovations

De Beer WaterBase 900+ series

Valspar Automotive introduced the latest addition to its waterborne refinish product platform with the De Beer WaterBase 900+ series. This new system features 13 additional mixing colors that have higher coverage and require fewer undercoats than the current system, providing increased productivity and cost savings to the body shop, while meeting global VOC compliance regulations said the company. Body shops can achieve a 20 percent increase in coverage versus the current 900 system and experience up to an additional 10 percent in savings.

Valspar+

Valspar Paint has rolled out Valspar+, certified asthma and allergy friendly by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA). Valspar+ reduces airborne irritants during painting, improving the painting process for those with respiratory sensitivities, the company says. In addition to having zero volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which can be a trigger for people impacted by asthma and allergies, Valspar+ has no lingering odor. Once dried, the paint's antimicrobial properties help it to resist mold and mildew. Valspar+ can be used in any room in the home and is ideal for bedrooms, especially for children, bathrooms, basements and kitchens. Valspar+ can be tinted in thousands of Valspar colors and is available in flat, satin and semi-gloss sheens.