and the communities in which
we operate.”
ISO 14001 certification pro-
vides assurance to employees,
In order to be recertified as compliant
with ISO 14001 requirements, Axalta
underwent a demanding evaluation pro-
cess in 2014 that included third-party
audits at 11 of our 34 manufacturing fa-
cilities. The audits focused on site com-
pliance with the ISO 14001 standard
as well as compliance with the Axalta
global EMS. Each site passed a rigorous
evaluation process covering a multitude
of procedures, programs and practices
within five criteria: environmental poli-
cy, planning, implementation and opera-
tion, checking and corrective action, and
management review. The recertification
process culminated in a comprehensive
audit in December, 2014 by LRQA of
the Axalta global headquarters, during
which the effectiveness of the global
EMS was assessed.
To maintain certification, LRQA will
continue to perform semi-annual audits
of Axalta’s headquarters and a representative sampling of certified sites to ensure
compliance and to assess initiatives for
continued improvement. Our customers
can be confident that Axalta will continue
to provide the high quality products and
services they have come to expect well
into the future.
BASF European Production
Center for Flooring,
Waterproofing Systems
Fully Operational
BASF’s new European competence center
for flooring and waterproofing systems
at Oldenburg, Germany, is now fully op-
erational. Manufacture of the Masters
Builders Solutions products has been
relocated from Schaffhausen, Switzerland.
This relocation was the key step in the
continuing development of business fol-
lowing the sale of the CONICA Sports
Surfaces business and the Schaffhausen,
Switzerland, facility in July 2013. Besides
production, customer order management,
sales, marketing, product management
and research and development depart-
ments are now located at Oldenburg
which BASF says has “proven to be the
right choice due to its location in the EU,
the good infrastructure, and the compe-
tence of its employees.”
“Our new center underlines our com-
mitment to sustainable, long-term expan-
sion for our flooring and waterproofing
system segments. In addition, we are
reinforcing our position as a reliable, in-
novative partner to our customers and
providing support for them through in-
dividual solutions,” said Philipp Kley,
senior vice president of the Construction
Chemicals Europe Business Unit.
The relocation of production equipment from Schaffhausen to Oldenburg
took place in two stages to minimize negative impact on production operations.
BASF has invested in logistics, facilities,
production equipment, research and
development. The added roll out of the
tinting hubs (machines to color the floor
systems) in Europe, increases flexibility,
brings supply efficiency close to the customer and will improve the professional
service significantly.
Hardide Coatings Invests
$7 Million in U.S. Plant
Hardide Coatings, Inc., a UK-based provider of advanced surface coating technology, has plans to invest in a new
manufacturing plant in Virginia (U.S)
worth approximately $7 million. The
investment will see Hardide Coatings
expand provision of its range of specialist nanostructured coatings throughout
North America.
The 26,000 square foot facility in
Martinsville, Henry County, is planned
to be operational in the fourth quarter
of 2015 with up to 29 jobs being cre-
ated in the first three years. The com-
pany produces a patented range of hard
wearing coatings which significantly
increase the life of critical metal parts
operating in abrasive, erosive, corro-
sive and chemically aggressive envi-
ronments. The new facility will service
existing and new customers in the oil
and gas, aerospace, flow control and
advanced engineering markets.
Philip Kirkham, CEO of Hardide
plc said: “Demand from customers in
North America, including leading com-
panies operating in oil and gas explo-
ration and production, valve and pump
manufacturing, nuclear, advanced en-
gineering and aerospace industries, is
developing well and a local production
facility will significantly boost the busi-
ness available to us.”
The new facility is located within an
Enterprise Zone in a state where more
than 230 aerospace companies, the
Commonwealth Center for Advanced
Manufacturing and two Rolls-Royce
facilities are based. It will house new
chemical vapour deposition (CVD) coat-
ing reactors as well as the latest pre-treat-
ment, inspection, quality assurance and
finishing equipment.
“Martinsville, Virginia was chosen after a long and detailed evaluation of numerous locations in different states. We
chose Virginia as it offers a positive business environment with a central location
for the existing and projected customer
base and it makes a compelling economic
and business case,” addedKirkham.
Speaking about the announcement,
Governor McAuliffe said, “Creating
jobs in the advanced manufacturing sector is critical as we work to build a new
Virginia economy. I am thrilled to announce these new jobs, which pay well
above the average prevailing wage for
the region. I had the opportunity to meet
with company officials last summer in the
U.K. about this project, and we are honored to welcome Hardide Coatings to the
Commonwealth’s growing roster of international companies.”
“This is a big win for rural Virginia
as the region continues its economic rebound,” said Maurice Jones, Virginia
Secretary of Commerce and Trade.
“Hardide Coatings is a growing global
company, and this significant investment
to expand its manufacturing presence
