Osaka, Japan

www.nipponpaint.com

Markets Served: Automotive coatings, Industrial coatings, Decorative coatings, Marine and Protective coatings

NIPSEA Group is a global leader, providing innovative solutions in the paint and coatings industry. Headquartered in Singapore, with more than 134 NIPSEA companies spread throughout 45 geographical locations, the group is Asia Pacific’s largest paint and coatings manufacturer in both production and sales revenue.

After more than 50 years of growth, NIPSEA Group has more than 34,000 employees with 100 manufacturing facilities and operations, serving all aspects of the business, from production to customer satisfaction. NIPSEA Group provides products for architectural, industrial, automotive and marine coatings.

Revenue by Region

• Japan 14%
• Nipsea 53%
• Dulux Group 25%
• Americas 8%

Nippon Paint Marine announced that FASTAR, its premier antifouling solution, has won the Environmental Technology Award during the Japan Chemical Industry Association (JCIA’s) 56th annual technology awards ceremony.

FASTAR, which was recognized for its contribution to reducing fuel consumption and its benefits to marine life and the environment, is the first marine coating to win this prestigious award from the JCIA.

The award recognizes innovative and outstanding scientific technologies and products that have greatly contributed to the development of the chemical industry, through the creation of superior chemical technologies.

Many antifouling paints prevent the adhesion of marine life to a ship’s hull by releasing antifouling agents back into the ocean.

FASTAR’s hydrophilic and hydrophobic nano-domain structure allows the antifouling agent to be eluted more efficiently than conventional products, reducing elution by up to 50%.

FASTAR also features patented hydrogel water-trapping technology, which significantly reduces hull to water friction and has been shown to reduce fuel cost and emissions by up to 8%.

“It is with great pride that we accept the JCIA’s award for innovation in environmental technology,” Hirokazu Kaji, deputy GM, Technology Division at Nippon Paint Marine, said. “To be recognized as the recipient of this prestigious award is a fantastic achievement and is a reflection of the hard work and dedication of our R&D team. The fact that FASTAR is the first marine coating to receive this honor marks a significant milestone in our journey and highlights the important role of technology to reduce maritime emissions. Nippon Paint Marine’s R&D team will continue to drive forward our commitment to innovation and excellence, in harmony with the protection of the natural environment.”

Nippon Paint Marine has joined the Global Industry Alliance for Marine Biosafety (GIA). The GIA supports two key environmental objectives of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO): to protect marine biodiversity and decarbonize shipping.

The publication in 2023 of IMO guidelines on biofouling has seen port authorities and governments respond quickly to bring in measures for managing bio-fouling. The GIA is supporting efforts to reduce the spread of invasive species and improve environmental protection.

Membership in the GIA will allow Nippon Paint Marine to contribute to the development of guidelines for tackling biofouling and the consequent contamination of marine ecosystems by invasive species.

“At Nippon Paint Marine, we are committed to supporting the environment and ensuring we produce products for the shipping industry that help to minimize operators’ impact,” said Gladys Goh, president of Nippon Paint Marine.

Latest Product Launches

PROTECTON

In the Japan market, Nippon Paint launched PROTECTON brand in 2020, named after the function to “PROTECT” people’s lives from threats of viruses and bacteria + to turn the function “ON” to the surfaces of all things. Since then, we have combined all of　Nippon Paint Group’s paints, coatings and surface treatment technologies to offer a lineup of products for industrial, DIY and household use.

High adhesion primer

Nippon Paint Surf Chemical developed a high adhesion primer, SURFCOAT NR-Z for pouch-type LIB package. Excellent adhesion after prolonged immersion in electrolyte was achieved.

Dulux envirO2

Dulux envirO2 is a premium low odour, low VOC acrylic paint that delivers superior performance.

Markets Served: Automotive coatings, Industrial coatings, Decorative coatings, Marine and Protective coatings

NIPSEA Group is a global leader, providing innovative solutions in the paint and coatings industry. Headquartered in Singapore, with more than 134 NIPSEA companies spread throughout 45 geographical locations, the group is Asia Pacific’s largest paint and coatings manufacturer in both production and sales revenue.

After more than 50 years of growth, NIPSEA Group has more than 33,000 employees with 94 manufacturing facilities and operations, serving all aspects of the business, from production to customer satisfaction. NIPSEA Group provides products for architectural, industrial, automotive and marine coatings.

Nippon Paint Expands into Vietnam

Nippon Paint Marine is expanding its coatings production to Vietnam, in response to the growing market demand for its marine coatings, following Vietnamese government investment in the country’s shipbuilding sector.

Vietnam’s maritime industry has been declared a priority sector by the Vietnamese government and is on track to become one of the largest shipbuilding and ship repair hubs in Asia. The demand for marine coatings across both domestic and foreign shipping fleets that are dry-docked in Vietnam is projected to grow significantly over the next few years.

Over the past two years, drydock capacity has doubled in response to demand shifting from China due to COVID-19 lockdowns, plus the growth of the country’s own domestic fleet.

“We have expanded our footprint in Vietnam to include marine coatings,” said Ee Soon Hean, general director, Nippon Paint Vietnam. “Continued growth in the maritime sector is resulting in the expansion of all the major shipbuilding and repair hubs in the country. There are six large yards in the north, the same in the south and two in central Vietnam. Our research indicates that there are approximately 4,000 vessels that will require coatings, including new-builds and existing tonnage.”

Nippon Paint Marine (Vietnam) has already secured coatings contracts with several Vietnamese shipowners, including Vietnam Ocean Shipping (VOSCO), Truong Nguyen Transport Import Export Trading Ltd, Sellan Gas Company and its Group, VIMC Shipping Company (Vinalines.)

Nippon Paint’s established facilities in industrial zones in the north, south and central regions of Vietnam will begin producing the company’s range of marine anticorrosion and protective coatings imminently, with hull and antifouling products set to be added to production lines in the 2024/5 period.

“We estimate that the total demand for marine coatings from domestic owners alone could be worth $35 million in the medium term and even more when you consider the opportunity for foreign ship maintenance and repair in Vietnam, which continues to grow. We anticipate a 15-20% market share of the marine coatings market within the next five years,” Soon Hean said.

“With our technical expertise and a local talent pool of more than 1,000 people, now is the right time to invest in Vietnam’s rapidly expanding maritime industry,” he added. “We are ready to serve this market and the shipyards and owners here know us well.”

“Vietnamese shipowners and yards can benefit from our locally produced, locally supplied coatings technology that is proven to save fuel, reduce emissions, and increase service time whilst reducing idle time, application time and minimizing operational and maintenance costs,” Do Quoc Vinh, Marine Coatings business manager, Nippon Paint Vietnam, said.

Although parent company Nippon Paint has had a presence in the country since 1989, producing decorative and automotive coatings from production plants outside Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi, the Vietnamese maritime industry has, until this year, been served by Nippon Paint Marine Singapore. Bringing on a dedicated, Vietnam-based team will enable Nippon Paint Marine to deepen its roots in the local market and grow its marine coatings business in the region.

Drydocked at Vietnam’s Pharung shipyard, VOSCO’s 9101 DWT container ship Fortune Freighter applied Nippon Paint Marine’s nanodomain structured self-polishing antifouling FASTAR XI in October 2022 for the first time.

A FASTAR I coating has also been applied to Truong Nguyen Sky, a 24,000 DWT new-builds bulker that Pharung shipyard is building for the Truong Nguyen Transport Import Export Trading. The VIMC bulkers VMIC Mighty and VMIC Brave have also had a FASTAR I coating applied.

Markets Served: Automotive coatings, Industrial coatings, Decorative coatings, Marine and Protective coatings

NIPSEA Group is a global leader, providing innovative solutions in the paint and coatings industry. Headquartered in Singapore, with more than 134 NIPSEA companies spread throughout 22 geographical locations, the group is Asia Pacific’s No. 1 paint and coatings manufacturer in both production and sales revenue.

After more than 50 years of growth, NIPSEA Group has more than 26,000 employees with 94 manufacturing facilities and operations, serving all aspects of the business, from production to customer satisfaction.

NIPSEA Group provides products for architectural, industrial, automotive and marine coatings.

Acquisition of Cromology
The DuluxGroup Limited (DGL) – the market leading decorative paint and coatings company in Australia and New Zealand which is wholly owned by Nippon Paint Group (NPG), has acquired Cromology, the fourth largest architectural paint manufacturer in Europe.

The sale follows the announcement in October last year that Cromology’s former owners Wendel Group had entered into an exclusivity agreement with DuluxGroup to complete the sale. This process, inclusive of regulatory approvals and transfer of shares, is now complete.

In addition to being Australia and New Zealand’s market leader in decorative paints and coatings, DuluxGroup has a growing presence in Europe and is responsible for Nippon Paint Group’s ambitious growth plans in decorative paints in Europe and other western markets. It has no association or connection with the owner of the DULUX brand in other parts of the world, including Europe.

Backed by the resources, scale and financial strength of the world’s fourth largest paint company, DGL plans to invest in Cromology’s future growth and sees excellent opportunities to further expand on its market leading positions.

“We’re about acquiring market leading businesses who already have a strong track record, retaining them and investing in them,” said Richard Stuckes, DGL International chief operating officer. “Cromology is world class. It has a highly capable management team who have deep European market knowledge and experience, leading premium brands that are household names, excellent manufacturing facilities, broad distribution across key geographies, strong R&D credentials and – above all – plenty of more opportunities for growth,” said Stuckes.

“For us, this is about acquiring a sizeable European platform as the base for ongoing growth. We see opportunities in adjacent geographic and related product markets, including through DGL’s broader product range and technology as well as its retail DIY channel expertise.

“Cromology’s leadership team has done a tremendous job building the enterprise and we’re really excited about the potential for Cromology from here as part of DGL, backed by the scale and resources of the world’s number four in NPG,” he said.

“I’m really proud of everything we have achieved for Cromology,” Cromology chairman Pierre Pouletty said. “It’s been a privilege to chair this wonderful company, and I look forward to seeing it progress from here with the support of DGL and NPG.”

“Cromology associates are looking forward joining the DGL-Nippon Paint family,” Cromology CEO Loïc Derrien added. “Today, we are opening a new chapter of Cromology’s transformation with a strong focus on growth. Being part of the fourth largest paint company in the world will bring tremendous opportunities to all of us. We will leverage DLG-NPG’ technologies and know-how to the benefit of our customers while offering new opportunity for growth to our suppliers. Cromology associates will be exposed to new professional and personal development opportunities.”

As part of DGL, Cromology will be empowered to grow autonomously while benefiting from access to the Nippon Paint Group’s global scale, technologies, capabilities and extensive capital resources. In particular:

• Cromology will become DGL’s Western European hub for decorative paints and coatings and ETICs as well as DGL’s platform for its further expansion to adjacent markets.
• Cromology’s well recognized and market leading brands will be retained and further developed with product offering expanded to take advantage of DGL/NPG product range and technology.
• Existing Cromology management and staff will be retained to lead the company’s growth and transformation.
• Cromology, with its impressive innovation capability, will become a valuable part of NPG’s 3,000 strong global R&D community, enabling Cromology to benefit from shared technical expertise & insights while retaining complete R&D autonomy.
• Cromology’s manufacturing and supply chain footprint will be retained and expanded over time.

Markets Served: Automotive coatings, Industrial coatings, Decorative coatings, Marine and Protective coatings

Nippon Paint manufactures a wide variety of paints and coatings, including those for automobiles, construction, architecture, wood, steel structures, ships, metal, electrical equipment, machinery, roadways and household appliances among others. Nippon Paint is one of the largest paint manufacturers in Asia and has 33 manufacturing plants and produces more than one million tons of paint and coatings annually. The company employs approximately 34,000 people.

Creation of Nippon Paint Automotive Americas

Nippon Paint Holdings Co., Ltd. (NPHD) announced the merger of its U.S. automotive businesses.  NPA Coatings Inc., NB Coatings, Inc., and NPAA Chattanooga will merge into a single company and operate under the name Nippon Paint Automotive Americas, Inc.

The merger will bring about a one-company solution for pretreatment, electrocoat, body paint and paint-on-plastic product offerings specifically designed to meet the needs of the automotive coatings market.

NPAC, located in Cleveland, OH, manufactures and sells E-Coat, body paint and pretreatment chemicals to automotive OEMs and suppliers primarily located in North America. NB Coatings (Lansing, IL) manufactures and sells coatings for paint-on-plastic applications for automotive OEMs and their tiers, also primarily in North America.

In addition, the third location in Chattanooga, TN was recently established as the site of a new manufacturing facility.

It will primarily produce E-Coat and topcoats for the automotive market. The Chattanooga location will be a new 270,000-square-foot LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified manufacturing facility, which will leverage some of the most advanced technologies available to optimize productivity and sustainability.

“This is an exciting announcement for us that we believe will yield important benefits to our customers while ensuring the continuity of our business relationships,” said Tetsuro Fujita, president and CEO of Nippon Paint USA. “As a leader in automotive coatings, we pledge our continued commitment to providing superior products for all steps of the coating process.

This merger builds upon Nippon Paint’s continued expansion into the North American automotive coatings market and we will continue to invest in our plants and in customer-driven technical innovation with the potential to create new products, new markets, and services.”

Nippon Paint Marine’s Biocide-free
AQUATERRAS Wins Green Technology Award

Nippon Paint Marine’s ships hull coating AQUATERRAS won the Green4Sea Technology Award.

The paint system, currently the world’s first and only completely biocide-free, self-polishing (SPC) antifouling paint, finished first in a global poll for making a “significant technological breakthrough” in marine environmental sustainability, according to Nippon Paint Marine.

“The Technology Award is an extremely important category and Nippon Paint Marine is very proud to have won this award, especially as we celebrate our 140th anniversary,” said Seiichiro Shirahata, Nippon Paint Marine president. “Advancement through coatings technology has always been Nippon Paint Marine’s driving force and ethos. We are immensely proud that this commitment to technical achievement has been recognized by those forward-thinking ship owners that have applied the coating, but also to the global maritime industry in general for voting for this technology.”

AQUATERRAS was launched in 2017 and “in a relatively short time, the system has received wide market acceptance as it contains absolutely no biocides,” said Ryuji Ishihara, chief product officer, Nippon Paint Marine.

“Its ground-breaking technology, developed by Nippon Paint’s team of R&D chemists, paves the way for a cleaner, greener ocean environment,” Ishihara added. “By controlling biofouling and maintaining clean hulls, the global shipping industry can help leave our oceans in condition fit for future generations to enjoy.”

Markets Served: Automotive coatings, Industrial coatings, Decorative coatings, Marine and Protective coatings

Nippon Paint manufactures a wide variety of paints and coatings including those for automobiles, construction, architecture, wood, steel structures, ships, metal, electrical equipment, machinery, roadways and household appliances among others. Nippon Paint is one of the largest paint manufacturers in Asia and has 33 manufacturing plants and produces more than one million tons of paint and coatings annually.

Nippon Paint acquired Turkish paint manufacturer Betek Boya for an undisclosed amount. Nippon also acquired Australia’s biggest paint maker, DuluxGroup, for $2.6 billion.

Nippon Paint and Corning Inc. have developed a special coating to protect workers from picking up viruses from painted surfaces.

Nippon Paint’s Antivirus Kids Paint, developed specifically for frontline hospital use, incorporates Corning Guardiant Antimicrobial Particles – a nascent technology designed to safeguard against viruses from adhering to hospital surfaces.

Nippon Paint and Corning believe antiviral coatings applied to surfaces can provide frontline healthcare workers with an additional layer of protection against viruses.

Nippon Paint’s Antivirus Kids Paint was tested by Microchem Laboratory in the US in January 2020, with results showing that the coating inactivates over 99.9 percent of the Feline Calicivirus.

Feline Calicivirus has been approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a suitable replacement for detecting human norovirus.

The new coating also kills harmful bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli (Escherichia coli) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Nippon Paint and Corning Inc have donated RMB 5 million worth of Nippon Paint Antivirus Kids Paint to four hospitals in China’s Hubei Province.

“The coronavirus outbreak has prompted us once again to be highly innovative, and we are happy to work jointly with Corning at this particular time to complete the development, tests and production of the antivirus coating. We hope this will give frontline healthcare professionals valuable support as they fight the virus,” said Eric Chung, president of Nippon Paint, China.

The coating was developed specifically for hospitals and healthcare environments.

Nippon Paint Marine recently signed a long-term supply contract with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings to provide antifouling systems to 13 cruise ships operating under the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands.

The agreement, signed late last year, will see the coatings specialist apply its market-leading low-friction SPC antifouling, A-LF-Sea, to six Oceania vessels, five Regent Seven Seas Cruises vessels and Norwegian Cruise Lines ships Norwegian Epic and Norwegian Dawn.

A-LF Sea has already been applied in 11 drydocks while three vessels, Marina, Nautica and Norwegian Epic will be coated with the hull coating during scheduled dry dockings later this year.

The fleet-wide contract follows the performance success of the low-friction self-polishing copolymer applied to vessels under individual agreements.

In December 2019, the company’s low-friction hull coating system LF-Sea won the 2020 Japanese Government Award for Global Warming Prevention Activity. The judging panel found the use of the coating contributed to reduced drag, consequently resulting in lower fuel consumption and reduced CO2 emissions from those vessels that have applied the hull coating.

“Norwegian’s requirements are understandably extremely demanding but thanks to its forward planning, together with the reliability and performance of this coating, these vessels will benefit from greater fuel and operational efficiencies,” said John Drew, director of Nippon Paint Marine Europe. “A-LF-Sea has been successful in assisting the Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises fleets in coping with changes in their itineraries and providing predictable and effective protection from fouling in all the geographical areas in which these vessels operate.”

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings operates a fleet of 28 cruise ships. The 13 vessels to which A-LF-Sea have or will be applied are Oceania Cruises’ Insignia, Marina, Nautica, Regatta, Riviera, and Sirena; Seven Seas Explorer, Seven Seas Mariner, Seven Seas Navigator, Seven Seas Splendor and Seven Seas Voyager; and the Norwegian Cruise Line’s ships Norwegian Epic and Norwegian Dawn.

Nippon Paint Marine is also working with Norwegian in the verification testing and performance monitoring of its unique biocide-free hull coating Aquaterras. A test patch has been applied to an undisclosed cruise ship and results are being benchmarked against a conventional biocide-coating.

Nippon Paint Marine, which has been active in the cruise market since 2011, is expected to apply its low-friction hull coatings to its 70th cruise ship later this year.

Markets Served: Automotive coatings, Industrial coatings, Decorative coatings, Marine and Protective coatings

Nippon Paint manufactures a wide variety of paints and coatings including those for automobiles, construction, architecture,wood, steel structures, ships, metal, electrical equipment, machinery, roadways and household appliances among others. Nippon Paint is one of the largest paint manufacturers in Asia and has 33 manufacturing plants and produces more than one million tons of paint and coatings annually.

Nippon Paint Marine introduced what is believed to be the world’s first biocide-free, low friction self-polishing copolymer antifouling technology.

Aquaterras – a name derived from the Japanese word for shining and the Latin for water – is an entirely new type of marine coating developed using neither biocide materials nor silicone.

“Typically ships’ antifouling paints have contained some form of biocide – copper, tributyltin, co-biocides. But the use of biocides today is strictly controlled by both national and international regulations such as the BPR in the EU,” Nippon Paint Marine Director John Drew said. “And while there are no immediate plans to further regulate the use of approved biocides, we cannot rule out the possibility that copper in antifouling will be regulated in the near future.

“Nippon Paint Marine has always looked to develop systems that go beyond the regulations. And with Aquaterras our chemists have achieved the impossible – a truly effective and efficient long-life, self-polishing antifouling paint without the use of biocides,” he added.

The technology adopts an advanced antifouling mechanism based around the anti-thrombogenic polymers used in the construction of artificial hearts and blood vessels in the

medical sector.

The medical polymeric material was designed so that no biological substances or life would or could adhere to the surface so as to prevent blood clots (thrombosis). Using the technology in marine pants allows the new hydrolysis polymer reaction developed at Nippon Paint to continuously self-polishes. It also exposes active micro-domain structures to seawater ensuring that Aquaterras provides long-term antifouling performance.

“Biocides are normally comparatively heavy and rough in paint formulations but since Aquaterras is without such heavy pigments, we can achieve a remarkably glossy and smooth film is achieved,” said Drew. “This smoothness is further enhanced by its in-service self-polishing. Unlike silicone types, Aquaterras can be applied simply without the need for costly and time-consuming masking. It can also be overcoated in the same way as today’s SPC’s and can even be applied onto existing SPC’s if they are in good enough condition.”

Registered as a tin-free antifouling paint, Aquaterras has received approvals from all the major classification societies and is certified with no active ingredients in its Type Approval Certification.

A full and comprehensive technical Dossier has been compiled to demonstrate the testing carried out by Nippon Paint over years of research.

Nippon Makes Two Major Acquisitions

Nippon Paint is acquiring Turkish paint manufacturer Betek Boya.

Betek Boya, known in Turkey for its “Filli Boya” brand of paint, was expected to see sales of 1.6 billion lira ($303 million) last year.

The value of the deal was not disclosed.

According to Turkish regulatory filings, German firm DAW holds nearly 25 percent of Betek’s shares, while the majority stakeholder is the Akpinar family of Turkey.

Nippon also plans to acquire Australia’s biggest paint maker, DuluxGroup, for $2.6 billion.

DuluxGroup is the top paint maker in Australia and New Zealand, with revenue totaling $1.3 billion in the year ending September 2018.

In a statement, DuluxGroup Chairman Graeme Liebelt said: “The board has carefully considered the strategic options available to DuluxGroup to maximize value, including continuing to pursue domestic and global growth as a stand-alone company, and we have unanimously concluded that the transaction with Nippon is in the best interests of our shareholders.”

The acquisition will allow Nippon Paint to expand its global footprint, specifically in Oceania. The company generates 60 percent of its sales from Asia outside Japan, mainly in China.

Markets Served: Automotive coatings, Industrial coatings, Decorative coatings, Marine and Protective coatings

Nippon Paint manufactures a wide variety of paints and coatings including those for automobiles, construction, architecture, wood, steel structures, ships, metal, electrical equipment, machinery, roadways and household appliances among others. Nippon Paint is one of the largest paint manufacturers in Asia and has 33 manufacturing plants and produces more than one million tons of paint and coatings annually.

The company recently acquired Dunn-Edwards, a U.S.-based decorative coatings manufacturer, and Huizhou CRF, a China-based industrial wood coatings manufacturer. Dunn-Edwards Corporation has been the leading paint manufacturer in the Southwestern United States since 1925. Huizhou CRF has strength in the industrial wood coatings where the market has been growing rapidly. This acquisition will contribute to Nippon Paint Holdings’ vision of becoming a major player in the global paint market.

FY2017 Financial results

• Sales in fiscal 2017 increased by ¥ 91.2 billion year-on-year to ¥ 650.2 billion;
• In terms of organic (existing) business, sales in Asia increased 17 percent compared to the previous year, mainly in the segment of China’s decorative coatings, automotive coatings and industrial coatings, where the group has its strengths in branding and sales network, etc. In addition, automotive coatings in Japan increased;
• In terms of inorganic (M&A) projects, Nippon reinforced industrial furniture paint business, acquired Huizhou CRF, in China and decorative business Dunn-Edwards in the U.S.;
• Operating profit decreased by ¥5 billion compared to the previous year, mainly due to the impact of rising raw materials price in China.

Nippon Paint Establishes The Gennosuke Obata Fellowship At Harvard

Nippon Paint has established the Gennosuke Obata Fellowship Fund at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD). The fund will provide financial aid to GSD students from Asian countries, helping to attract, enroll, and support talented design scholars from the region as they work to become leaders in transforming the social and built environment.

“We are humbled to be able to have the opportunity to partner with Harvard University Graduate School of Design to invest into the future generation of design students through the Gennosuke Obata Fellowship. Nothing can be more rewarding than to be a small part of creating an impact or making a change in the lives of Asian students and returning home bringing with them a better future for themselves and their country,” said Wee Siew Kim, CEO of NIPSEA Group.

Nippon Paint’s gift of $300,000 to establish The Gennosuke Obata Fellowship Fund includes $50,000 for immediate use to benefit students at the GSD. The remainder of the gift is invested in the Harvard University endowment, leveraging these dollars for future support. As part of the Grounded Visionaries campaign, the GSD has increased the number of student fellowships by over 50 percent, and there are now 24 endowed funds expanding opportunities for talented design students.

The Harvard GSD partnership brings with it an additional program for the Regional Winners of AYDA – rewarding both from the Architecture and Interior Design categories, a six-week all-expense paid for Design Discovery program where the winners will have the privilege to learn and experience intensive studio work, lectures, workshops and field trips. Deeply immersed in a culture that is both challenging and rewarding, learning what education and work are like in design and planning professions emerging with a more profound understanding of the possibilities and the choices that lay before them.

The Gennosuke Obata Fellowship Fund represents Nippon Paint’s next step in investing in these young design leaders. This is in line with its commitment to nurturing the next generation of talented designers, reflected in its Asia Young Designer Award (AYDA). Launched in 2008, the event has become one of Asia’s premier design award, serving as a platform to inspire architecture and interior design students to develop their skills and to network with key industry players and peers in the region.

NIPSEA Group’s Inclusive Business strategy embraces the holistic approach by bridging the gap between education and poverty that essentially create the next generation of thinkers, innovators and game changers in their lives, families, communities, and country. This gift is a continuation of the company’s strategy to extend its reach through GSD’s global presence in countries where they are present in providing designs students an opportunity to quality education and optimize the opportunity to build an inclusive economy that allows everyone to thrive.

Markets Served: Automotive coatings, Industrial coatings, Decorative coatings, Marine and protective coatings

Nippon Paint manufactures a wide variety of paints and coatings including those for automobiles, construction, architecture,wood, steel structures, ships, metal, electrical equipment, machinery, roadways and household appliances among others. Nippon Paint is one of the largest paint manufacturers in Asia and has 33 manufacturing plants and produces more than one million tons of paint and coatings annually.

Nippon has recently announced plans to quadruple production capacity for automotive paint in India this year, adding a plant to complement a recent factory upgrade.

The company will spend a total of approximately $34.7 million on the expansion, raising capacity in the South Asian nation to an annual 25,000 tons of auto paint.

The goal is to have a new plant in the southern city of Hindupur up and running by the end of the year. The factory will produce mostly water-based paint designed to prevent rust. This location will supply paint to such Indian automakers as Tata Motors and is close to a Toyota Motor plant as well.

Nippon Paint has also added capacity at a plant in the northern city of Delhi.

East Asia accounts for approximately 60 percent of Nippon Paint’s sales. According to news reports, in India, where new-auto sales are expected to hit 5.5 million units in 2020, the company has less than 10 percent of the paint market even after last year’s merger of automotive coatings operations with Berger Paints India.

Nippon Paint also made inroads into the U.S. with its recent merger with Dunn-Edwards Corporation, one of the U.S.’s  largest independent manufacturers of architectural, industrial and high performance paints.  Nippon Paint will maintain the Dunn-Edwards brand and its range of quality paints. The merger with Dunn-Edwards provides Nippon Paint with a platform for growth throughout the U.S.

“We’ve wanted to expand our architectural paints in the U.S. and have been searching for the right partner,” Nippon Paint’s president and CEO Tetsushi Tado said. “It is important to us that Dunn-Edwards is the most environmentally responsible paint manufacturer, which fits with our mission. They are respected by both painting contractors and designers as a top choice. We enjoy the same reputation throughout Asia, so it’s an ideal fit.”

New Products

Nippon Paint has launched a range of wood coatings to India. The company has forged an alliance with Italy’s IVM Chemicals and set up a new Wood Art division. Under this division, this partnership will promote and market Nippon Paint’s existing wood coating products based on Japanese technology, as well as IVM Chemicals’ leading international brands Milesi, Ilva and Croma Lacke.

While speaking at the New Delhi launch of this division and the strategic alliance, Wee Siew Kim, CEO of NIPSEA Group – the promoter of Nippon Paint (India) – said, “Our aim has always been to delight our customers with a wide variety of quality products. Wood Art by Nippon Paint is a unique offering of wood coating solutions that is both art and science. Together with our renowned Italian partner IVM, the two stakeholders aspire to transform the wood coating industry in India with their unique program.”

The company has plans for setting up two experience centers for wood coatings, in Mumbai and Delhi.

Nippon Launches Anti-Viral Paint

Nippon Paint has launched VirusGuard, the first anti-viral paint in Malaysia. The formula works by using silver ion technology (which is activated when oxidized and is deadly to bacteria) as well as control release technology.

“The slow release technology is important because silver ion decomposes quickly,” said Nippon senior manager, Kel Low. “The paint shortens the lifespan of the virus very rapidly”

“Air fresheners and air purifiers also use silver ion technology. You either have to spray or switch it on to make use of the silver ion benefits – when you switch it off, the silver ion is just not there. For our purpose, if there was no slow release, there would be no anti-bacterial properties.”

Markets Served: Automotive coatings, Industrial coatings, Decorative coatings, Marine and protective coatings

Nippon Paint manufactures a wide variety of paints and coatings including those for automobiles, construction, architecture, steel structures, ships, metal, electrical equipment, machinery, roadways and household appliances among others. Nippon Paint is one of the largest paint manufacturers in Asia and has 33 manufacturing plants and produces more than one million tons of paint and coatings annually.

In Asia, all Nippon Paint offices are managed by the Nipsea Group. Nipsea Group manufactures and sells Nippon Paint products in 15 Asian countries. Overall, the company generates close to one billion liters of paints and coats annually.

Nippon Paint (Coatings) Philippines joined the recently concluded Philippine World Building and Construction Exposition (Worldbex) held at the World Trade Center, Metro Manila.

Themed “Worldbex 2016: Uniting Strong Foundations,” the event put a spotlight on interior design luminaries who mounted gallery vignettes that showcased their design philosophies, and reflected the prolific development of the country’s construction and design industry.

Nippon Paint (Coatings) Philippines collaborated with notable interior designers such as Johnny Hubilla, Michael Pizzaro and Rogelio Caringal, who used the innovative Nippon Paint Momento Special Effect Paint to bring more life to their respective gallery designs.

A revolutionary textured paint series that allows one to add texture to the walls, Nippon Paint Momento comes in two lines – the Textured Paint Series, a premium line of opaque paint featuring Elegant, Sparkle Pearl, Sparkle Silver and Sparkle Gold special effects; as well as the Enhancer Series, a semi-transparent glaze-over featuring Frost and Cloud special effects.

Nippon Paint also partnered with the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Chennai (China) to create design patterns using Momento special effect paint.

The Elegant range will help to create a stylish impression with luxurious matt textures and rich colors. Innovative and enchanting, Elegant is formed with gelatine pigments and rich colors to evoke the essence of Italian renaissance. Its thick formation spreads across any surface to create an exquisite texture. With odorless and water-based features, it transforms any interior environment into a rustic masterpiece.

The Enhancer range will provide a glazed-look over the walls to create serene winter masterpieces of frost texture bathed in snow, pearl or gold luster. The entire range focuses on providing homes with a soothing and spacey appearance.

The Dzine range will bring an out-of-the-box, unorthodox approach to painting walls. This variant is easy-to-use and enable’s homeowners to be able to design their own homes.

During the launch, Mahesh Anand, president decorative business, Nippon Paint said, “With this new launch, our focus is to primarily reach out to homeowners who are looking to redo their homes based on their respective personalities. As designed by NIFT students the patterns using Momento range of products are easy-to-use and ideal for homeowners who enjoy painting their own living spaces. Partnering with NIFT Chennai has definitely proved beneficial to us – the students come with interesting, fresh ideas and it was truly a delight to see such beautiful patterns created with our paints.”

Nippon Launches New Paint To Safeguard Against HFMD And H1N1

Nippon VirusGuard, a new paint formula to safeguard against Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) and the H1N1 virus, will be available in the market in soon. Produced by Nippon Paint Malaysia, the paint which was developed with “Silver Ion Technology,” is the first of its kind to have anti-viral and anti-bacterial coating to inhibit the growth of viruses and bacteria on painted surfaces. “Nippon VirusGuard can help mitigate the spread of contagious diseases such as HFMD and H1N1. The revolutionary water-based hygiene paint prevents the growth of micro-organisms using a controlled ion-release system, besides featuring low odor with low volatile organic compounds (VOC),” said Nippon Paint, group managing director, Yaw Seng Heng. Yaw said Nippon Paint is also working with relevant parties to come up with an anti-mosquito wall paint to combat dengue, which is a common, growing problem worldwide.

Markets Served: Automotive coatings, Industrial coatings, Decorative coatings, Marine and protective coatings

Nippon Paint manufactures a wide variety of paints and coatings including those for automobiles, construction, architecture, steel structures, ships, metal, electrical equipment, machinery, roadways and household appliances among others. Nippon Paint is one of the largest paint manufacturers in Asia and has 33 manufacturing plants and produces more than one million tons of paint and coatings annually.

In Asia, all Nippon Paint offices are managed by the Nipsea Group. Nipsea Group manufactures and sells Nippon Paint products in 15 Asian countries. Overall, the company generates close to one billion liters of paints and coats annually.

Nippon Paint China recently boosted its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program, with the launch of its “Society Care” programs in nine big cities around China. These charitable programs drew the participation of more than 1,000 voluntary staff members from seven different business sectors of Nippon Paint China, who embodied the company’s spirit.

As one of Asia’s leading paint manufacturers, Nippon Paint China began their steps towards developing a social public welfare program back in 2009, when they initiated the “Color, Way of Love” program, which renovates and improves the learning environment of schools in rural areas in China. They have also developed several social interest activities, which included establishing a special fund together with China Youth Development Foundation and Shanghai United Foundation, for “Color, Way of Love;” donating the establishment of Nippon Paint China Happy Art Class; launching training programs for school teachers and providing teaching opportunities for college students.

Markets Served: Automotive coatings, Industrial coatings, Decorative coatings, Marine and protective coatings

Nippon Paint manufactures all types of paints and coatings including those for automobiles, construction, architecture, steel structures, ships, metal, electrical equipment, machinery, roadways and household appliances among others. Nippon Paint is one of the largest paint manufacturers in Asia and has 33 manufacturing plants and produces more than one million tons of paint and coatings annually.

In Asia, all Nippon Paint offices are managed by the Nipsea Group. Nipsea Group manufactures and sells Nippon Paint products in 15 Asian countries. Overall, the company generates close to 1 billion liters of paints and coats annually.

Japan’s Nippon Paints is entering the decorative paint market in the Philippines to cash in on the country’s booming economy. Nippon Paint (M) Sdn Bhd Group general manager Gladys Goh Kaye Jen said the Philippine paint and coatings market is approximately $760 million, 65 percent of which is made up of the decorative or architectural paints segment.

Nippon Paints has been in the Philippines since the 1970s, catering mostly to the industrial market by producing coatings for motorcycle, automotive and marine/shipbuilding industries. This segment of the company has been growing in the country by 10 to 15 percent annually.

The paint-maker, which has a presence in 15 countries and employs 15,000 workers across Asia, had been absent in the biggest money-maker for paint makers in the Philippines until the launch of Nippon decorative paints.