Coatings World - March 2013

Q&A with Axalta Coating Systems

Coatings World had the opportunity to interview the leaders of Axalta Coating Systems,
formerly DuPont Performance Coatings.

The Carlyle Group has recently completed its acquisition of DuPont Performance Coatings for $4.9 billion and announced that the company is being renamed Axalta Coating Systems. Axalta Coating Systems is a global supplier of coatings to the transportation and industrial sectors. Coatings World recently had the opportunity to speak with Charlie Shaver, chair and CEO, and John McCool, president of the new company. The two leaders spoke about the impact of the acquisition and the company’s long-term strategy.

Coatings World: Please provide some background on Axalta
Coating Systems. When was the company founded? What
types of coatings does the company manufacture?

John McCool: Axalta Coating Systems will continue a more than 90 year tradition in the coatings industry. Today, we’re a leading global manufacturer, marketer and distributor of innovative, high performance coatings. We serve the transportation industry as well as other industrial customers such as manufacturers of electrical insulation systems and machined metal.

The coatings business at DuPont began in the early 1920s with brands such as Centari and technological innovations such as the invention of the first mixing machine system. In the early 1970s, we exited the architectural coatings business to focus solely on the industrial and transportation sectors. In a way, our new independence completes that evolution. Our growth accelerated in the 1990s. We introduced Cromax, a basecoat for vehicles that remains a key brand in our portfolio, and we acquired terrific brands like Spies Hecker, Standox and Nason. In the first decade of the new millennium we introduced Cromax Pro, our third generation waterborne technology, a great product that meets both customer and environmental needs. Of course, our latest news is only weeks old. As our new name suggests we are now independent and, quite significantly, can be completely focused on coatings.

For just a rundown of our major product lines: We make
both high-bake and low-bake coatings for OEMs. For refinish
shops, we have a number of long-standing brands: ChromaBase,
ChromaPremier, CromaxPro, Standox and Spies Hecker. We
also offer regional brands such as
Nason, Duxone, Cromacryl and
Max. We serve the liquid industrial
business – manufacturers in the rail,
heavy duty truck and electrical in-
sulation systems sectors – with our
Imron brand and Voltatex electri-
cal insulation systems. Our leading
powder brands are ALESTA, NAP-
GUARD and ABCITE.

CW: How will the acquisition of
DuPont Performance Coatings af-
fect the company?

Charlie Shaver: Fundamentally, what our independence means is that everyone at the company will be able to focus on our passion – coatings – on a full time basis. Our independence will release our full potential and that’s going to convert into ever better products and services for our customers. Behind the scene, our acquisition by The Carlyle Group establishes a great partnership. Carlyle understands our business and our customers. Plus, Carlyle is truly global – just as we are. With offices on six continents, they can provide insights into global trends and opportunities. We can benefit from their insights when we want but are free to run our business as we see fit.

McCool Shaver

C W: What assets and products were included in the acquisition?

McCool: Quite literally, everything that was part of DuPont Performance Coatings comes with us to Axalta Coating Systems: products, people and plants. We will continue to provide without interruption every single brand, technology tool and service we offered before our sale. Even more importantly, though, every one