Coatings Summit Held in Paris

The Biennial Coatings Summit was held January 30-February 1at the Westin Vendone in Paris, France. The Summit began with a Welcome Reception where attendees and presenters had the opportunity to socialize and network.

The first day of the Summit began with presentations given by some of the top coatings companies in the world.

Charles Shaver, chairman of Axalta Coating Systems presented “Global Strategies for Growth.” Shaver began with an overview of the paint and coatings industry and identified opportunities for growth. He said that the paint and coatings industry remains fragmented with the top nine players taking 49 percent market share. According to Shaver, slow organic growth coupled with raw material and cost headwinds is driving market compression.

M&A activity continues to be a major growth driver. China, and particularly Millenials, are rapidly becoming a larger segment of the market.

“Other industries have adopted approaches to rapid innovation in order to respond to changing preferences,” said Shaver. “Key success factors include superior customer insights; speed, agility and flexibility; close collaboration between product design and collaboration.”

Thierry Vanlancker, CEO of AkzoNobel presented “A Global Perspective: Coatings in China.” AkzoNobel has a big presence in China. The company had €1.5 billion in revenue in China, 6,000 employees, 15 production sites and four offices.

“Economic growth in rates in China remain high despite slowdown compared to other regions,” Vanlancker said. “Key challenges for the China economy are housing bubble slowdown, China/U.S. trade issues, speculation debt crisis and deleverage impact, fast-changing sustainability policies and rising costs for skilled labor.”

Looking forward Vanlancker stated that China continues to be a strategic growth market.

Patrick Houlihan, managing director and CEO of Australia-based DuluxGroup presented “Regional Leadership and Marketing Advantage.”

Australia-based DuluxGroup had sales of $1.3 billion (Australia dollar) and employs 4,000 people. Ninety-five percent of its revenue is from Australia, New Zealand, APAC and Africa. DuluxGroup’s focus is to be a regional market leader with global leadership.

Other notable presentations were given by ICP Group, Vitex-Yannidis, Nippon Paint and Industrias Titas.

The next Coatings Summit will be held 2021, date and location to TBA.