CEO Forum
March 2015 www.coatingsworld.com Coatings World | 69
waterborne liquid, chromate-free, powder, low-VOC and high-solids coatings formulations are helping our customers exceed
environmental guidelines and manage sustainability.
Cao: Our R&D is aligning with market trends in sustainability.
In the wood coatings field our focus has been to develop new
products that reduce pollution. Those products are already commercialized and have seen great success. In decorative paints,
we are stepping up in artistic coatings with considerable investment. Our R&D goes beyond paint. We work with our clients
and deal with their concerns.
Jullien: At Hempel, we are constantly working to develop new
products and formulations that help customers achieve additional benefits, from saving energy and reducing fuel consumption to increasing line speeds or reducing the build up of bacteria
on surfaces in hospitals and schools.
A consideration for health, safety and the environment is
also a natural part of our work and we develop products that
meet or exceed both technical specifications and environmental
legislation. We are committed to phasing out lead, for example.
Our decorative assortment is already lead free worldwide and
we are implementing a new lead-free tinting system for industrial and marine products, which will be introduced in the second
quarter of 2015.
We also launched new initiatives in 2014 that commit us to
not just follow regulations for green building, but leading the
industry in this area. These initiatives include a commitment to
develop low-solvent decorative products, such as Topaz Zero, a
recently launched range of interior paints that contain no hazardous chemical compounds.
In 2015, we will keep investing in R&D to improve our
assortment, taking into account the environment without
compromising the performance of our coatings. Our success
is based on high performance, environmentally friendly and
efficient coatings.
Roy: Our R&D efforts are focused on developing innovative
yet cost effective solution for our customers.
Shaver: Our goal is to build on our nearly 150-year strong legacy of innovation. This objective will be driven by Barry Snyder,
our new head of global R&D and technology function, who
brings enormous experience to Axalta. Barry will be able to take
our current portfolio of innovative products such as our VOC-compliant Cromax Mosaic product for body shops and our light
vehicle OEM offerings such as our 2-Wet Monocoat, 3-Wet and
Eco-Concept systems to the next level. We will continue to introduce more advanced protective properties in our coatings which
we see as a value add for our markets. Superior temperature performance, additional durability, longer wear are just examples.
We will also continue to add more complex color offerings in our
coatings. Keeping ahead of the new composites and plastics used
to lightweight vehicles will also be important as part of our strong
pipeline of new products.
CW: What are your company’s long-term
plans?
Büchner: In February 2013 we unfolded a clear longer term vi-
sion: to deliver leading performance from our many leading mar-
ket positions. Our core principles and values define the culture
and behaviors that we are committed to embedding throughout
AkzoNobel. We have three core principles – safety, integrity and
sustainability. These work in harmony with our values –
Customer focused, Deliver on commitments, Passion for ex-
cellence and Winning together. With these core principles and
focus areas we will generate organic growth and achieve opera-
tional excellence to deliver our short term goals (2015 targets)
and drive towards our long term vision.
Bunch: We think that the best days for PPG and the coatings
industry are ahead of us. For PPG, our focus will be on consistently delivering high-quality, innovative and sustainable solutions. Our customers will continue to rely on PPG to protect and
beautify their products and surroundings. We believe that by
maintaining our role as a leading coatings company, shareholders will benefit from growing industry trends, strong PPG operating cash flows, and disciplined capital allocation that have
become hallmarks for us and coatings industry overall.
Cao: We are now one of the leading players in China in industrial wood paint and decorative paint. Our long term plan is firstly,
of course, to strengthen our position in our current markets.
This will be achieved by bringing innovative value to our customers. Secondly, we would be interested in other segments such
as industrial protective coating and EIFS. Thirdly, we would be
interested in external growth through M&A.
Jullien: One Hempel – One Ambition strategy draws to a close
at the end of 2015. We’re currently working on our 2020 strategy, which will define our goals for the future and how we will
reach them. However, our focus will remain in growing our core
segments: Decorative, Protective and Marine.
Roy: Our long term plan is to grow aggressively in the
critical market of the Indian sub-continent including India,
Bangladesh amd Nepal and also build up our presence in
Russia & Poland. Ultimately we would like to position ourselves within the top 10 paint companies of the world both in
terms of revenue and profitability.
Shaver: Our long term plans are to continue to be a leader in
industrial and transportation coatings. We will grow not only organically but also by acquisition where needed. With our strong
presence in both developed and emerging markets we believe we
are well positioned to grow in most regions of the world. We’ve
got an exceptional team of people around the world at all levels of
our organization who are poised to deliver on our expectations.
When we arm them with our strong product mix and customer
support tools, I see an Axalta that is built for performance. CW
