executive committee responsible for performance coatings.
“By expanding capacity at our Songjiang site, we are well po-
sitioned to capture the ongoing demand from consumer and
construction markets.”
Added AB Ghosh, managing director of AkzoNobel’s
Industrial Coatings business: “We are very pleased to have start-
ed commercial production at the expanded Songjiang site. The
extended capabilities and new product lines will not only help
us to better serve customers in the country, but will also allow
us to supply resins for our own local production of coil and
packaging coatings.”
The Songjiang facility employs close to 300 people and
houses AkzoNobel’s largest research and development cen-
ter in China. The company is also expanding its activities in
other parts of the country, with work ongoing at sites for
Powder Coatings and Decorative Paints in Chengdu, a com-
bined investment of € 50 million in one of the fastest growing
regions in China. In addition, a new regional office for west-
ern China is being inaugurated in Chengdu, which will house
employees from several coatings businesses. AkzoNobel cur-
rently employs more than 7,400 people in China, including
500 in research and development.
AkzoNobel also has announced plans to optimize the manufacturing footprint of its coil coatings sites in Europe and Russia
by concentrating production at three strategic sites.
The company intends to improve operational performance
by focusing all European manufacturing for the Coil Coatings
business on plants in Malmö (Sweden), Lipetsk (Russia) and
Hilden (Germany).
As a result of these plans, production at sites in Gamleby
(Sweden) and Nürnberg (Germany) would end by June 2015.
Current manufacturing at Gamleby will move to Malmö and
Lipetsk, while production at Nürnberg will switch to Hilden.
AkzoNobel is a global leader in coil coating, which is a continuous and highly automated process for coating metal before
fabrication. The products are mainly used for building components and infrastructure, as well as for consumer goods such as
kitchen appliances.
An important issue facing the industrial coatings market
is environmental regulations. Environmental legislation and
the move toward more water-based technologies is one key
aspect driving the market for industrial coatings. In recent
years, there has been a shift in the types of products being
used for industrial applications. While the products must be
highly durable and offer the best substrate protection, they
must also comply with environmental legislation.
“The legislation moves constantly towards using more en-
vironmentally friendly products and Hempel follows of course
this closely to ensure our customers can live up to the demands,”
said Møller. “Water-based is one way, but higher solids prod-
ucts another way of reducing solvents. We see an increasing
preference for this last option.”
“There is always a drive towards better anti-corrosive
protection,” said Møller. “Products that have high temper-
ate resistance and perform well in cyclic service are also
growing in importance.”
Customers are also looking for performance according to or
higher than ISO 12944 standards/tests.
PPG Recognized as John Deere Supplier of the Year
PPG Industries’ industrial coatings business has earned recognition as the Enterprise Indirect Material and Services (IM&S)
“Supplier of the Year“ in the John Deere Achieving Excellence
Program. PPG was also awarded Partner-level status for 2013.
“Supplier of the Year” is Deere & Company’s highest recognition. PPG was selected for the honor in appreciation of its
dedication to providing products and services of outstanding
quality, its risk-minimizing SECURE LAUNCH EXCELLENCE process and its commitment to continuous improvement. PPG supplies electrocoat, liquid and powder coatings, and pretreatment
chemicals to John Deere’s global operations.
Suppliers who participate in the Achieving Excellence program are evaluated annually in several key performance categories, including quality, cost management, delivery, technical
support and wavelength, which is a measure of responsiveness.
John Deere Supply Management created the program in 1991
to provide a supplier evaluation and feedback process that promotes continuous improvement.
PPG offers a comprehensive array of electrocoat, pretreat-
ment, liquid and powder products for metal finishing to man-
ufacturers in numerous industries. In addition to providing a
broad range of industrial coatings ,PPG backs its products with
technical expertise delivered through an international customer
support network. With 50 years of experience in e-coat, PPG of-
fers solutions to some of the industry’s toughest corrosion chal-
lenges, the company said.
