Displaying items by tag: AkzoNobel
AkzoNobel and Sikkens continue partnership with Mercedes-Benz in China and Indonesia
Mercedes-Benz and AkzoNobel have agreed to extend their partnership agreement for another four years. It means the company will continue to be a recommended supplier of vehicle refinish products and services in China and a preferred partner in Indonesia.
The deal was confirmed after extensive testing and analysis of the product assortments and services provided by AkzoNobel’s premium Sikkens brand.
“We’re delighted to extend our successful partnership with one of the world’s most renowned automotive brands,” says Patrick Bourguignon, Director of AkzoNobel’s Automotive and Specialty Coatings business. “We believe that our class-leading Sikkens portfolio, digital color tools and services offering can add value to our partner’s after sales network and deliver the best possible support to its customers in China and Indonesia.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Sikkens will continue to be the approved partner for paint repairs in China and the preferred paint partner in Indonesia for the next four years.
As well as offering proven performance and a premium quality refinish system, AkzoNobel is a leader in the development of innovative digital color tools. The partnership means customers can benefit from MIXIT™, a cloud-based color retrieval application which gives instant access to more than two million color formulas. In combination with the compact, hand-held Automatchic™ spectrophotometer, any paint job can be done quicker, more accurately and with less waste.
Customers can also benefit from AkzoNobel’s business services, including the Carbeat™ digital bodyshop workflow solution, which helps to increase production management efficiency and reduces cycle times. Meanwhile, for the Chinese market, the company recently introduced a range of new low VOC products.
“The continuation of our partnership agreement shows great recognition for AkzoNobel’s dedicated vehicle refinish teams in the region,” adds Baron Schreuder, Regional Commercial Director Asia for the company’s Automotive and Vehicle Refinish business. “Asia is an extremely important region for both parties and we’re proud to continue providing a first class service experience throughout China and Indonesia.”
The four-year extension means AkzoNobel continues to be a Mercedes-Benz partner in 26 markets: Abu Dhabi, Austria, Bahrain, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, the Netherlands, Oman, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, the US and Yemen.
For more information about Sikkens, visit www.sikkensvr.com.
AkzoNobel powering ahead with solar projects in China to accelerate sustainability ambitions
Two major projects to install around 8,000 solar panels are being finalized by AkzoNobel in China, helping the company to accelerate its ambition of cutting carbon emissions in half by 2030.
Being installed at two Decorative Paints plants – more than 5,000 at the Shanghai site and almost 3,000 in Guangzhou – it represents further progress for the company’s greener manufacturing plans.
“Increasing the amount of renewable energy we use is a key part of our People. Planet. Paint. approach to doing business more sustainably,” explains Wijnand Bruinsma, AkzoNobel’s Program Manager for Sustainability. “The new installations will make an important contribution to our ongoing sustainability achievements in China and will help drive us towards our overall goal of moving to 100% renewable electricity by 2030.”
The new solar systems will become the primary source of power at each location. Now almost fully completed, they’ll generate around 1.66 million KWh in Shanghai and 1 million KWh in Guangzhou.
“We’re excited to see these two projects successfully come to life,” continues Mark Kwok, Director of AkzoNobel’s Decorative Paints business in China/North Asia. “Sustainability is at the core of everything we do, whether that means improving the eco-footprint of our sites or addressing the environmental needs of our local customers and communities at large.”
Kwok adds that plans are also in place to install more solar panels at the company’s manufacturing sites in Changzhou, Langfang and Chengdu. “By installing additional panels at our sites in China, we’ll be able to reduce our energy consumption throughout the entire manufacturing process,” he says.
At the end of 2020, AkzoNobel’s total share of renewable electricity use was 40%, with 34 locations and 12 countries already using 100% renewable electricity.
About AkzoNobel
We’ve been pioneering a world of possibilities to bring surfaces to life for well over 200 years. As experts in making coatings, there’s a good chance you’re only ever a few meters away from one of our products. Our world class portfolio of brands – including Dulux, International, Sikkens and Interpon – is trusted by customers around the globe. We’re active in more than 150 countries and have set our sights on becoming the global industry leader. It’s what you’d expect from the most sustainable paints company, which has been inventing the future for more than two centuries.
AkzoNobel partners with Polar Pod for pioneering scientific mission
A pioneering scientific expedition which will send a manned oceanographic platform drifting around Antarctica has brought AkzoNobel on board as exclusive paints and coatings partner.
The brainchild of French explorer and environmentalist Jean-Louis Etienne, the Polar Pod will enable international scientists and researchers to study the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, which has a major influence on the Earth’s climate and contains an immense reserve of marine biodiversity.
Standing 100 meters high, the Polar Pod won’t be motorized, so it will be zero emission, silently driven by the circumpolar current – like an ocean-going satellite – as it gradually makes its way around the Antarctic continent. AkzoNobel will sponsor the 1,000-ton platform for the next five years, from project construction through to the completion of its three-year mission, which is expected to start in December 2023.
“This is a really exciting partnership and a fantastic example of how we’re prepared to go to the ends of the Earth to help our customers and discover pioneering ways to become even more sustainable,” says AkzoNobel CEO, Thierry Vanlancker. “It represents an intriguing blend of visionary thinking and environmental ambition which fits perfectly with our own People. Planet. Paint. approach to sustainable business. We’re extremely proud to be involved.”
The Polar Pod will be supported by a dedicated offshore supply vessel, which will be permanently assigned to the mission. It will leave the nearest port to join the platform on its drift course as it crosses the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and slowly negotiates the most powerful current on the planet.
The platform (which is taller than the Statue of Liberty) will be towed horizontally to its first study area and tilted vertically by filling seawater ballast tanks – when most of the structure will be submerged. Built of special steel to handle violent storms, it will allow the acquisition of data and long-term observations that will be transmitted to researchers, oceanographers, climatologists and biologists at 43 scientific institutions in 12 countries.
Operating in an area that sailors refer to as the Furious Fifties (between 50° S and 55° S), studies will include: air/ocean exchange measurements, in particular related to CO2; wave dynamics; plankton collection and evaluation of the impact of acidification; acoustic inventory of marine fauna; validation at sea of satellite measurements and aerial observation of marine life.
“As an industry leader in sustainability and a global market leader in marine and yacht coatings, lowering our environmental impact on the planet and contributing towards ocean preservation are key aspects of our strategy,” adds Jean Michel Gauthier, Director of the company’s Marine and Protective Coatings business.
“Sponsoring the Polar Pod expedition is a great way for us to help advance scientific knowledge of the pivotal role the Southern Ocean plays on the Earth’s climate and marine biodiversity. We’re looking forward to supporting the team and raising awareness of the program as the mission begins to gather momentum.”
The collaboration has a strong link to AkzoNobel’s 2030 “Planet” ambitions, which include reducing carbon emissions by 50% and moving towards zero waste as a company. The research findings and knowledge gained during the expedition – including the impact of the harsh marine environment on the company’s products – could therefore prove invaluable.
AkzoNobel already has a presence in and around Antarctica, having supplied products for the British Antarctic Survey’s Halley VI research base, Sir Edmund Hillary's historic hut and explorer Robert Swan’s e-Base at Bellingshausen.
For more information about the Polar Pod, visit: www.oceanpolaire.org/en/polar-pod/
About AkzoNobel
We’ve been pioneering a world of possibilities to bring surfaces to life for well over 200 years. As experts in making coatings, there’s a good chance you’re only ever a few meters away from one of our products. Our world class portfolio of brands – including Dulux, International, Sikkens and Interpon – is trusted by customers around the globe. We’re active in more than 150 countries and have set our sights on becoming the global industry leader. It’s what you’d expect from the most sustainable paints company, which has been inventing the future for more than two centuries.
AkzoNobel gains top water-saving certification
AkzoNobel’s UK decorative paints business has gained the Carbon Trust Water Standard, becoming one of only six companies in the world to receive the certification since its launch in February – joining major names such as Coca-Cola Enterprises and Sainsbury’s.
The award recognises reductions achieved through a huge programme undertaken to cut water usage at AkzoNobel. Measures have included the introduction of rainwater harvesting to feed manufacturing processes and a programme to reduce water leakage across plants.
AkzoNobel has also streamlined production processes reducing the number of cleaning cycles needed and increased storage capacity for wastewater at manufacturing sites. The latter step has meant that more wastewater can be incorporated into product formulations, cutting the need for fresh water.
AkzoNobel is the largest global paint and coatings company. The UK is a key location for the manufacture and retail of its decorative paints, including iconic brands such as Dulux, Dulux Trade, Polycell and Cuprinol.
The company has been ranked in the top three in the influential Dow Jones Sustainability Index since 2007 and was ranked first in the chemicals supersector last year. It also holds certification for carbon reduction from the Carbon Trust.
AkzoNobel's 1,100-employee UK decorative paints business will soon be expanded by the opening of a new site in Ashington in 2014. This plant will exemplify the business’s commitment to sustainability with ambitious plans including ensuring all water is re-used.
“Radical resource efficiency, doing more with less, is central to our sustainability strategy and water reduction is an important part of responsible resource management," said Chris Cook, AkzoNobel’s global sustainability director for decorative paints.
"We have driven down water usage at our plants and we are determined our new plant in Ashington will be the most sustainable paint plant ever with state-of-the-art processes driving down energy consumption and waste.”