AkzoNobel to produce marine and protective coatings in Russia

Customers in Western Russia are to benefit from local production of AkzoNobel’s International brand marine and protective coatings. 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 Q3, 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.