AkzoNobel broke ground on its new
Decorative Paints site in Chengdu, capital city of Sichuan Province, China. The
facility is part of an investment in excess
of € 50 million to build manufacturing
facilities for both Powder Coatings and
Decorative Paints.
Located in Qionglai Yang’an
Industrial Park, the new site – the company’s fourth plant for decorative paints
in China – occupies an area of 55,000
square meters. The first phase is scheduled to be opened in 2016, with full operations expected by 2017.
Speaking at the groundbreaking cer-
emony, AkzoNobel CEO Ton Büchner
said: “Our investment in this new site is
further proof of our ongoing commitment
to China, which is one of our most stra-
tegically important markets. Establishing
this new facility also gives added momen-
tum to our organic growth ambitions, as
well as enabling us to continue expanding
our manufacturing footprint in Asia.”
Added Ruud Joosten, AkzoNobel’s
Executive Committee member respon-
sible for Decorative Paints: “Further
boosting our presence in China will sup-
port our growth ambitions and enable us
to work more closely with our customers
in the region. There is strong demand for
our products and we will continue to in-
novate to meet the increasing needs of
the market.”
Offering approximatley 100 employ-
ment opportunities to the local mar-
ket, the new site will comply with the
company’s highest sustainability and
HSE&S standards. Due to be equipped
with state-of-the-art production facili-
ties, it will manufacture the full range of
AkzoNobel’s Decorative Paint offerings
and market them in China.
In addition to building the new plant,
the company is also donating RMB 1.5
million to help fund the creation of ten
“Adream Centers” in Qionglai. These
centers are designed to improve the
quality of education for children – one
of the key focus areas of AkzoNobel’s
Human Cities initiative, which was
launched in June.
“We attach great importance to be-
ing part of the communities where we
operate,” said Lin Liangqi, president
of AkzoNobel China and managing
director of the company’s Decorative
Paints business in China and North
Asia. “Contributing to the education of
young people in the area will therefore
be just as important as enhancing our
production capacity with the new site
and providing more value for our cus-
tomers in China.”
AkzoNobel employs more than 7,400
people in China, including 500 in research and development. In 2013, the
company generated revenues of €1.6
billion, the majority coming from local
demand. Within Sichuan province, the
company currently operates a regional
office, powder coatings production site
and a car refinishes training center, with a
new powder coatings production site also
under construction.
Sherwin-Williams Product
Finishes Renames Industrial
Wood Finish Brand
Sherwin-Williams Product Finishes announced AcromaPro as the new name
of its industrial wood finishing brand
available exclusively through its North
American distributor network. The line
of coatings for the furniture, kitchen
and bath, millwork and specialty markets carries on the 140-year Becker
Acroma tradition.
“While the brand name has changed,
the formulas for and outstanding quality of AcromaPro products remain the
same,” said Mike McCally, director of
strategic sales. “AcromaPro products are
designed to exceed wood finishers’ expectations, and we promise to continue to
deliver the latest innovations to enhance
product performance – just as we’ve done
with products like Matador and Bernyl.”
Axalta Files Form S-1
Registration Statement for
Proposed IPO
Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. has filed
a registration statement on Form S-1
with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission for a proposed initial public
offering of its common shares. Axalta is
a leading global manufacturer, marketer
and distributor of high performance coat-
ings systems. The securities to be offered
in the proposed initial public offering
may include shares to be issued and sold
by Axalta as well as shares to be sold by
certain current shareholders of Axalta.
Axalta intends to use any net proceeds
to it from the offering, plus cash on hand,
for the repayment of indebtedness and to
pay related fees and expenses.
Citigroup, Goldman, Sachs & Co.,
Deutsche Bank Securities and J.P.
Morgan are lead book-running managers for the proposed initial public offering. Additional book-running managers
are BofA Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Credit
Suisse and Morgan Stanley.
When available, copies of the preliminary prospectus relating to the proposed
initial public offering may be obtained
from Citigroup, c/o Broadridge Financial
Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue,
Edgewood, NY 11717 or telephone:
(800) 831-9146; Goldman, Sachs & Co.,
Attn: Prospectus Department, 200 West
Street, New York, NY 10282, telephone:
(866) 471-2526 or email: prospectus-ny@ny.email.gs.com; Deutsche Bank
Securities Inc., Attn: Prospectus Group, 60
Wall Street, New York, New York 10005,
telephone: 800-503-4611 or email: pro-spectus.CPDG@db.com; and J. P. Morgan,
c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155
Long Island Ave., Edgewood, NY 11717
or telephone: (866) 803-9204.
A registration statement relating to
these securities has been filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission
but has not yet become effective. These
securities may not be sold nor may
AkzoNobel Breaks Ground
on Decorative Paints Site in China
