Coatings World - October 2012

air incineration unit, an active carbon filtration system, sealed surfaces and fire water collection systems, the factory produces no industrial waste water. Located in the Yonghe Zone of the Guangzhou Economic & Technology Development District about 100 kilometers north of Hong Kong, Hempel’s Guangzhou factory was completed in 14 months at a cost of approximately € 22. 5 million.

The Valspar Corporation recently 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.

“This facility enables us to bring a higher level of value to our
relationships in the Asia Pacific region by allowing us to be closer
to our customers,” said Valspar president and chief executive, Gary
Hendrickson. “The research and development center will give our
customers a unique competitive advantage. Valspar’s strategy is to
continue to invest in our people and our businesses in China.”
Valspar’s 2011 global sales totaled US$4 billion, including sales
in Asia Pacific of US$1 billion. Nearly half of the sales in the Asia
Pacific region are in China, where Valspar currently has five manu-
facturing facilities. Valspar produces and sells high-quality coatings
for numerous end-markets in China, including consumer paints,
food and beverage packaging, shipping containers, furniture, build-
ing products, and agricultural and construction equipment.

PPG Industries’ automotive refinish operations in China recently
relocated to a plant in Songjiang, Shanghai. PPG executives,
In their welcoming remarks, both Charles Bunch, PPG
chairman and CEO, and Mike Horton, PPG president, Asia
Pacific, spoke of PPG’s commitment to the Chinese market
and expressed their confidence in the market’s growth po-
tential, particularly in the automotive refinish sector.

“Since its entry into China in the 1980s, PPG’s automotive
refinish business has built an extensive service network and
strong brand awareness with a large base of loyal customers,”
said Pauline Yuen, PPG vice president, refinish coatings and
light industrial coatings, Asia. “The purpose of the relocation
was to fulfill growing demand from local customers. At the
new site, with improved facilities and our talented people, we
will continue to provide cutting-edge products and superior
service to Chinese customers.”
The ceremony also marked the inauguration of a Shang-
hai training center for PPG’s automotive refinish business.
“Talent development has been part of our strategic focus for
the global market, as skilled technicians are better able to use
our refinish coatings products to full effect,” said James Yang,
PPG general manager of automotive refinish and light indus-
trial coatings, China. “In addition, we wish to promote the
overall growth of the spray finishing industry in China by
continually investing in talent development programs.”
PPG has built training centers for automotive spray finish-
ing in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Chengdu, providing

training for thousands of technicians from automotive manufacturers, auto service center and car dealers. The new Shanghai training center covers 3,000 square meters and includes state-of-the-art equipment to offer enhanced training for automotive refinish technicians.

Chugoku Marine Paints, Ltd., a Japan-based company that manufactures and sells paints for ship, industrial and container uses, as well as adhesives, through its Chinese subsidiary Chugoku Marine Paints (Shanghai), Ltd., located in Jiading District, Shanghai, China, completed construction of its second factory and began operations. This factory, the company’s third manufacturing plant in China following the first Shanghai factory and the Guangdong factory, was established in order to strengthen the company’s productivity and competitiveness, as well as increase customer satisfaction. The new factory will supply paints for vessels, industrial paints for bridges, industrial plants, steel structures, etc. and resins for paints.

In terms of new technology, CMP launched its Ekomate Series of waterborne coatings for dry container. After many years of focused research and development of waterborne coating systems, CMP said it made a significant breakthrough with the Ekomate advanced waterborne coating system, which could reduce VOC emissions by 80 percent when compared to solventborne coating systems. In addition, Ekomate products improve the working environment by reducing odors and because they are water-based rather than solventborne, the products remove a number of haz-