AkzoNobel’s Russia facility to produce protective and marine coatings

The international marine and protective coatings brand of AkzoNobel, a Dutch multinational manufacturing corporation that is active in the fields of healthcare products, performance coatings and specialty chemicals, will start local production in Western Russia. The new capacity is being added to the company’s existing Performance Coatings site in Lipetsk, south west of Moscow, and is expected to be operational in the third quarter of 2016.

The expansion will enable AkzoNobel to supply protective coatings for the regional oil and gas, mining, power and infrastructure markets, as well as marine coatings for ship building, maintenance and repair.

“This investment will strengthen our supply base and help bring us closer to our key customers in Russia,” explained Mauricio Bannwart, Managing Director of AkzoNobel’s Protective Coatings business.

Added David Prinselaar, Operations Director for AkzoNobel’s Performance Coatings business: “This project is an important part of our efforts to focus on fewer, larger sites that provide operational efficiencies. As well as providing additional capacity for the local market, it will also decrease lead times for our customers.”

The investment represents a further expansion for the multi-business site at Lipetsk, where production of coil coatings was also recently increased.