training schemes that can be
adopted by small and medium-sized enterprises across the coatings industry.
The program, which originally be-
gan in September 2013, was established
alongside Manchester Communication
Academy and successfully saw the gradu-
ation of its first cohort of students last
month. Recent graduate Zara Waseem
said, “I really enjoyed my time at HMG
Paints and I received a fascinating insight
into the business world. It has been a
great experience that I wouldn’t have re-
ceived at school and I’d definitely recom-
mend it to other students.”
The two year program saw eight stu-
dents from Manchester Communication
Academy aged between 14 and 16 visit
HMG Paints on a weekly basis to receive
hands on experience of working within
the coatings industry. The students’ were
given the opportunity to work and learn
within the manufacturing, sales, research
and development, and marketing depart-
ments, developing important vocational
skills, whilst acquiring a unique under-
standing of the industry.
“It may seem obvious, but the future of our business is with the young
people who we are developing and training from a young age” said John Falder,
who recognizes that investing in the
development of the next generation is
hugely valuable, not only to the organizations and industries involved but also
to the students themselves. “Several of
the young people who embarked on our
Future Entrepreneurship Partnership are
now going on to join HMG at the age
of 16 for full apprenticeships. These students are not only ahead of their classmates in terms of business acumen and
work ethic, but at the age of 16 they also
have superior CVs that will help kick-start their careers”.
Personal development has always
been at the heart of HMG’s culture,
and the Manchester-based coatings
manufacturer has a history of provid-
ing training for its employees, as well
as working closely with young people
from the local community. HMG Paints,
which is also the UK’s largest indepen-
dent industrial coatings manufacturer,
has always offered positions to school
leaders, providing them with the neces-
sary training to develop and forge a ca-
reer within the industry.
John is confident that the Future
Entrepreneurship Partnership can be es-
tablished as a benchmark for the industry,
saying: “It is not difficult to make contact
with the Heads of local schools, colleges
and universities and I urge business lead-
ers to seize every training opportunity
available to them. I believe that the young
people that we invest in today will go on
to lead HMG Paints in the future and will
have a significant impact upon the coat-
ings industry overall.”
One of the companies eager to incor-
porate the scheme is the Orrest Group,
whose founder Peter Davys, is also OCCA
Chairman of the Manchester region and
has a long history with HMG Paints and
the coatings industry.
Peter, who began his coatings career
in 1981 as an apprentice in HMG Paints’
laboratory, is excited by the collaboration
between the organizations. “Working at
HMG holds many fond memories for me
and although it’s been 35 years, it seems
like only yesterday that I first met John.
By working together, we can develop a
variety of apprenticeship and training
schemes that will help safeguard the future of the industry”.
AkzoNobel Working with
Siemens to Supply Coatings
for German Power Plant
AkzoNobel’s Performance Coatings business is working with global technology
powerhouse Siemens to provide coatings and corrosion protection for the
expansion of a major power plant in
Düsseldorf, Germany.
A leading turnkey supplier of com-bined-cycle power plants, Siemens is the
engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the new Fortuna
Block of the Lausward Power Plant,
which is due to start operations in 2016.
AkzoNobel will supply several thousand
liters of high performance coatings from
its International® range for the plant’s
structural steel and pipework.
“We are delighted to be working
in partnership with one of the world’s
leading power companies,” said Gerard
de Vries, Business Director – North
Europe for AkzoNobel’s Protective
Coatings business. “Being able to provide
the corrosion protection and aesthetic
coating system for this new cutting-edge
facility is something we are very proud of
and we look forward to making a further
contribution to the protection of these
important assets.”
Added Mario Leitsch, Project
Engineer at Siemens: “To protect our
plants from corrosion, we need to en-
sure that only the highest quality coating
products and fit-for-purpose systems are
used and installed. We are very satisfied
with AkzoNobel’s quality and ongoing
support.”
The plant will reach several records in
terms of power output and efficiency, in-
cluding the largest single combined cycle
gas turbine power plant and the greatest
net energy conversion. It also features a
glass section, designed by German archi-
tects Kadawittfeldarchitektur, providing
a modern and aesthetic slant to the tradi-
tional power facility.
Commenting on the project, Mauricio
Bannwart, Managing Director of
AkzoNobel’s Protective Coatings business said: “This deal adds to our extensive
global track record of providing coating
protection for the coal, oil and gas thermal power industries. Our experienced
personnel work in close partnership with
customers like Siemens to assist with
specifications, cross-border project coordination and on-site technical support.”
H.B. Fuller Breaks Ground
on New Facility in Indonesia
H.B. Fuller has announced that the
company broke ground on its future
manufacturing facility in Surabaya,
Indonesia. This future facility will
strengthen H.B. Fuller’s network in the
Asia Pacific region and will complement the products and technical service offered today by the company’s
manufacturing facilities in China, the
Philippines, Malaysia and Australia.
“This future manufacturing facility
is an excellent example of how we will
leverage our global reach and technical
knowledge to empower local experts,”
