currently has more than 30 production sites in total across the
whole of China.
“The opening of our Chengdu
production site will strengthen our position as the global leader and China’s
largest powder coatings supplier,” said
Conrad Keijzer, AkzoNobel’s Executive
Committee member responsible for
Performance Coatings. “It will allow us
to leverage the strong growth that we see
in the western provinces of China, furthering our organic growth momentum.”
Powder coatings have a sustainability
advantage in that they do not require the
use of solvents. The Chengdu site is also
notable from a sustainability perspective
as it is the company’s first powder facility in China to use innovative technology
that allows full recycling of waste water.
Investment in the new site reflects
the Chinese government’s Western
Development Policy, which has prompted
rapid industrial growth in the region. For
example, Longquanyi District – where
the Chengdu plant is located – has become one of the largest car manufacturing centers in the country.
“We are going through a rapid change
in western China and that is generating more demand for our business,” explained Eddie Wang, business director for
AkzoNobel’s Powder Coatings business
in North Asia. “The new Chengdu site
is an important investment in the region
and will enhance our support to local
customers, particularly those in the automotive industry.”
Axalta Coating Systems
to Acquire the Spencer
Coatings Group
Axalta Coating Systems has announced
that it has entered an agreement to acquire the Spencer Coatings Group, a leading manufacturer of high performance
industrial coatings for heavy-duty equipment, general industrial, oil and gas and
glass coatings segments. Financial terms
of the transaction were not disclosed.
The Spencer Coatings Group, estab-
lished in 1909, is the largest independent
industrial coatings manufacturer in the
UK. Spencer’s decades of success are at-
tributed to their high quality, durable
products, with a reputation of unpar-
alleled customer service. Well-known
Spencer products include Acothane poly-
urethanes for internal and external pipe-
line coatings, Corroless coatings which
provide a range of highly efficient cor-
rosion control solutions for a variety of
steel structures, and high-performance
water-based coatings for both glass and
general industrial segments.
“We are very proud to welcome the
Spencer Coatings Group into the Axalta
family,” said Michael Cash, Axalta senior
vice president and president, Industrial
Coatings. “Spencer’s industry-leading
product technologies fit very well within
Axalta’s current industrial portfolio. With
the acquisition of Spencer, we will have
the opportunity to take some incredibly
innovative products and expand into new
geographies, as well as provide our com-
bined industrial customers with addition-
al product technologies. We both share
a strong commitment to our customers
and to the industrial coatings markets in
which we participate.”
“We have spent the past twenty years
building a specialized industrial coatings
business with innovative coating systems
which are supplied to customers in the
UK and overseas,” said Phil Buck, Spencer
Coatings Group managing director. “To
continue to grow and provide confidence
to our customers and employees, we felt
that the Spencer Coatings Group would
benefit from being part of a larger coat-
ings company that would enable us to ac-
celerate our growth plans. Axalta Coating
Systems, with their global footprint and
commitment to innovation, will provide
the best home for our company and we
are very excited about the prospects for
both companies.”
AkzoNobel and Ministry
of Foreign Affairs Launch
Human Cities Coalition
Founded by AkzoNobel, the Human Cities
Coalition (HCC) brings together more
than 150 stakeholders and 20 partners,
such as Arcadis, Philips, ABN-AMRO,
the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
Slumdwellers International, to focus on
realizing Goal 11 of the United Nation’s
17 Sustainable Development Goals:
sustainable cities and communities.
HCC acts as a catalyst for new innovative solutions, financing mechanisms,
basic services delivery and better inclusion of grassroots organizations in urban
planning. Using a novel approach in the
field of inclusive and sustainable urban
development, the coalition will connect
bottom-up and top-down processes. HCC
invites urban communities to participate
as equal partners, and build scalable,
commercially viable solutions together
with the private sector. Furthermore,
HCC aims to use a blended finance model
to attract public and private capital. The
HCC launch centers around the theme:
“Building liveable cities together”.
PPG Highlights Reduced
Emissions, Waste and
Energy Use in 2016
PPG announced that it achieved its goals
to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and waste four years ahead of its
2020 target. The company made the
announcement as it released its 2016
Corporate Sustainability Report, which
details PPG’s progress toward achieving
its 2020 sustainability goals. The report is
available at sustainability.ppg.com.
GHG emissions intensity at the company in 2016 dropped 29 percent from
the 2012 baseline, while total waste disposal intensity declined 11 percent during
the same period. PPG initiated a number
of process improvements to achieve the
goals. The company also continued the
transformation of its business portfolio
to focus on paint, coatings and specialty
materials. In 2016, PPG’s strategic actions included the sales of its flat glass
and European fiber glass businesses, and
the sale of its ownership interest in two
Asian fiber glass joint ventures.
“PPG made important progress in
2016 in reducing emissions, waste and
energy use as we continue our focus
on sustainable operations,” said Mark
Cancilla, PPG vice president of environment, health and safety. “Our sustainability goals provide a steady foundation for
driving continuous improvement, and we
continue to evaluate our 2020 goals to
ensure they represent the challenges and
opportunities of our current operations
