Akzo Nobel has opened a new R&D laboratory at its marine and protective coatings facility in Felling, UK, marking another stage in a E10 million investment plan into research and development facilities serving the business unit.
The newly built R&D laboratory will serve the company’s global marine and yacht coatings businesses, while the existing R&D building at the Felling site will be redesigned and transformed into the business unit’s technology center, according to Akzo Nobel.
These improvements follow investments into two other marine and yacht coatings R&D facilities, including a new laboratory in Geoje, South Korea and an upgrade to the Newton Ferrers, UK site. Additional work has also been carried out at the Asia-Pacific technical center in Singapore.
“These investments are part of our continuing commitment to innovative research and to deliver to our customers first class products coming from first class facilities,” said Rudy van der Meer, member of Akzo Nobel’s Board of management responsible for coatings, during the official opening in Felling. “Innovation means keeping one step ahead of customer requirements. It should not only enable them to increase efficiency and productivity, but also to reduce costs. As the worldwide leading coatings company it is our aim to develop new products and technologies that combine excellent performance with compliance to the highest environmental standards,” he said.
Leif Darner, general manager of the marine and protective coatings business unit, added, “By investing heavily in laboratory facilities around the globe and developing new products and technologies, we will be in an even better position to keep pace with future needs, so ensuring that our customers the world over reap the best possible benefits.”