Akzo Nobel opens historic coatings plant in Russia

Citation

(2007), "Akzo Nobel opens historic coatings plant in Russia", Pigment & Resin Technology, Vol. 36 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/prt.2007.12936fab.022

Akzo Nobel opens historic coatings plant in Russia

Akzo Nobel opens historic coatings plant in Russia Akzo Nobel's Powder Coatings business has officially opened its first production plant in Russia on a site which offers ample capacity for future expansion. The facility is situated in the industrial belt surrounding Moscow at Orekhovo- Zuevo. The £13 million investment places the company at the heart of the Central and Eastern European market for industrial coatings, of which Russia has a 46 percent share. “This plant is part of an ongoing expansion of our activities in key geographic regions,” said Akzo Nobel CEO Hans Wijers. “We realized some time ago that local production was necessary in order to supply the service expected by our customers, and to keep up with rapidly growing demand. The beauty of this site is that two-thirds remains free for future development, which opens up further strategic opportunities for all our businesses.” Powder Coatings has been very active in Central and Eastern Europe during the last few years, an area which has a GDP equal to that of China. As well as recently expanding its site at Opava in the Czech Republic – the first phase of a £5 million refurbishment – the business has also inaugurated a dedicated state-of-the-art distribution warehouse in Poland, while another warehouse has been established in Hungary. Opening a production facility in Russia, however, is perhaps the most significant development, given that in 2006, 80 percent of the powder coatings used in the country was imported. “Many of our multinational customers have been investing in Russia and this plant will be able to produce to the high standards demanded by the automotive, domestic appliance and construction sectors,” added Powder Coatings General Manager, Rob Molenaar. “This investment continues our strategic goal of locating production close to our customers and will further consolidate our status as the largest global manufacturer of powder coatings.” Two production lines have been installed and are operating at the new facility, with another two scheduled to be up and running by mid-2008. Powder Coatings now operates 28 plants worldwide. Powder Coatings – solvent-free paints applied to metal and other conductive surfaces – are used on everything from metal furniture and window frames to radiators, pipes, cars and even wood and plastic.

BASF evaluates strategic options for selected styrenics activities

BASF Aktiengesellschaft (BASF), Ludwigshafen, announced that it is evaluating strategic options for selected parts of its styrenics activities. In parallel, to the evaluation process, BASF has received an initial offer for selected parts of its styrenics activities, and plans to start discussions with the interested party.

BASF's activities under consideration include its styrene monomer (SM), polystyrene (PS), styrene butadiene copolymer (SBC) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) businesses with plants in Antwerp, Belgium; Altamira, Mexico; São José dos Campos, Brazil; Ulsan, South Korea; and Dahej, India. These activities posted sales of about e3.2 billion in 2006 and have approximately 1,000 employees.

“Earnings in our styrenics activities have improved considerably thanks to efficiency optimization measures and fine-tuning of business models. However, further repositioning steps are necessary to meet appropriate levels of profitability,” said Dr John Feldmann, Member of the Board of Executive Directors, responsible for the plastics as well as oil and gas segments. “We will now begin talks to examine this initial offer as well as consider other options to see if these activities can realize additional potential in their highly competitive markets as part of the portfolio of a company experienced in the global commodities sector.”

Hans W. Reiners, President of BASF's Styrenics Division, said that BASF's remaining styrenics activities will in the future focus on foams and specialties for the construction, automobile, packaging, sport and leisure industries. “This ties in with the strategy of BASF's Plastics segment to supply its customers with highly innovative, tailor-made solutions.”

BASF will ensure that customers will not face any supply disruptions during the evaluation process. Employees will be informed about developments on a regular basis.

Lazard is acting as an advisor to BASF in connection with a potential transaction.

Styrene is strictly an intermediate product. It is a colorless liquid that polymerizes easily with heat and light. Basically all of the global SM output is used for the production of styrenic products.

PS is a thermoplastic resin that is used in many applications, such as disposable plastic products, packaging, many electronic devices, large appliances such as refrigeration liners and house wares.

SBC is a type of thermoplastic resin mostly used in food packaging applications. It is transparent and impact resistant, and can be processed into thin films that also go into display packaging. It is often used in combination with PS.

ABS is a thermoplastic resin, used for appliance parts such as vacuum cleaners or power tools. Automotive parts, smaller appliances such as mobile phone housings as well as recreational applications make up the remaining part of the ABS market.

BASF is the world's leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products, agricultural products and fine chemicals to crude oil and natural gas. As a reliable partner to virtually all industries, BASF's high-value products and intelligent system solutions help its customers to be more successful. BASF develops new technologies and uses them to meet the challenges of the future and open up additional market opportunities. It combines economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility, thus contributing to a better future. BASF has approximately 95,000 employees and posted sales of e52.6 billion in 2006. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA), New York (BF) and Zurich (AN).

For further information on BASF, please visit the web site: at www.basf.com