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.
Benjamin Moore Launches
“Paint Like No Other.”
Marketing Campaign
Benjamin Moore has kicked off the most
robust and ambitious advertising campaign in company history. Under the new
tagline “Paint like no other.”, the campaign is rolling out in two phases: the first
series emphasizes product innovations,
and is followed by a second wave focused
on its retailer expertise.
“We’re pursuing a more aggressive
approach to communicating the dif-
ferentiating factors that set Benjamin
Moore apart from our competitors,” said
Ron Schuller, chief marketing officer of
Benjamin Moore. “There’s a consumer
perception that ‘paint is paint,’ and our
campaign sets the record straight by fo-
cusing on our unparalleled product qual-
ity and personalized retail experience.”
The first phase of the campaign en-
titled, “Feats of Can,” Benjamin Moore
features coatings that correspond to
different product lines of its expansive
portfolio. The television spots illustrate
unique attributes of each coating includ-
ing Regal Select, an easy to clean interior
paint with superior stain resistant quali-
ties; Natura, the most environmentally
friendly premium paint in the market-
place today; Aura Exterior, paint with
durability that withstands the elements
with a lifetime warranty; and Regal Select
Exterior REVIVE, paint that is formulat-
ed specifically for vinyl siding.
Schuller continued, “For more than
130 years, Benjamin Moore has been
manufacturing paint that is superior and
has revolutionized the industry — from
developing a coating that has paint-and-
primer together, to a paint with zero
VOCs and zero emissions, this company
continually innovates. Today’s consumer
needs to know that inside every Benjamin
Moore can is an unparalleled paint to get
the job done right whether their project is
for the interior or exterior of the home.”
The second phase of the campaign,
“Who Are You Talking To?”, shifts attention to the expertise of locally owned and
operated retailers. Benjamin Moore is the
only paint maker that sells exclusively
through independent retailers while purposefully avoiding distribution to big
box stores. Benjamin Moore retailers are
hometown resources that help consumers
with the variety of questions related to
priming, painting and staining.
Sika Opens Mortar and
Concrete Admixture
Facilities in UAE
Sika has opened a new mortar manufacturing facility in Dubai and a concrete
admixture plant on Réunion. With these
openings, Sika reacts to the growing
demand in the respective markets and
strengthens its relationships with existing customers.
Paul Schuler, Sika regional manager
EMEA, emphasized the importance
of the new production facilities in the
United Arab Emirates (UAE) and on
Réunion: “The new facilities are impor-
tant milestones for Sika UAE and Sika
Indian Ocean, allowing us to produce
and supply our innovative, high-quality
and environmentally-friendly products to
satisfy the evolving requirements of our
local clients. With the plant in UAE, we
further accelerate the implementation of
our global mortar strategy in the EMEA
region. With 31 percent growth in 2014,
mortar is Sika’s strongest growing prod-
uct area as well as one of the key elements
of the Strategy 2018.”
Since 2008, the company has been pro-
ducing its range of concrete admixtures,
additives and compounds in the UAE and
provides customers in the region with
building adhesives, high performance
grouts and repair mortars. The new mor-
tar manufacturing facility is located at
Sika’s local premises in Dubai Investment
Park and complements the mortar pro-
duction of the company’s existing facili-
ties in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Besides
its local production plants, Sika UAE also
has warehouse facilities in Dubai and Abu
Dhabi for the storage of products manu-
factured by Sika companies worldwide
in order to support the local markets on
the Arabian Peninsula with a full range of
solutions for their specific requirements.
On Réunion, Sika has been active for
some 20 years through its subsidiary
Sika France. The new production facility for concrete admixtures covers the
needs of local construction companies
and helps realize large-scale construction projects such as the new highway
“Route de Littoral.”
AkzoNobel Launches Color
Trends Guide in South
Korea
AkzoNobel’s Performance Coatings business has launched its color trends guide in
South Korea, showcasing how design will
influence the next generation of smartphones, tablet computers and automotive interiors. The guide was developed
to help provide inspiration for customers, particularly in South Korea, where
AkzoNobel supplies coatings for manufacturers of consumer electronics and
other key industries.
The work continues a long tradition of innovation and customer focus
for the company in South Korea, which
started in 1980 when a joint venture
was established to serve the Korean
shipbuilding industry. AkzoNobel currently operates five major production
and research sites in Korea, employing
more than 800 people.
For the color trends guide, the company carried out its own market research
and combined this with input from trend
agencies and its own color experts.
“We translate all the information we
received into four key trends, eight palettes and 72 color effects and textures,”
explained Cindy Kim, Performance
Coatings Color Design Manager for Asia.
She added that, for the first time, the
design team has also created a Color of
the Year, Smooth Copper, which was selected in cooperation with the Aesthetics
