Citation
(1998), "Courtaulds to double its protective coatings business in Germany", Pigment & Resin Technology, Vol. 27 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/prt.1998.12927bab.016
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 1998, MCB UP Limited
Courtaulds to double its protective coatings business in Germany
Courtaulds to double its protective coatings business in Germany
Courtaulds, the international chemical company, recently announced that it has acquired Ernst Platt Bochum Lack-und Lackfarbenfabrik GmbH, a privately-owned German protective coatings (PC) manufacturer, based near Dusseldorf. The acquisition will more than double Courtaulds share of the PC market in Germany, making Courtaulds Protective Coatings the third largest supplier in a country which has the biggest PC market in Europe.
Courtaulds has a long established PC business in Hamburg which services primarily the northern and eastern regions of the country. Platt GmbH has good national sales coverage and as a holder of the German specification approvals required by the transportation, chemical and power industries, has good potential for further growth. The two businesses have complementary sales areas within Germany and, once combined, will provide a strong base to grow both in Germany and internationally in Central Europe.
Speaking in London, Neville Petersen, Courtaulds director responsible for Coatings said: "The acquisition of Platt GmbH is a logical step for Courtaulds Protective Coatings in Europe, and enables us to move up to become the third largest supplier in Germany. Not only will we now have a powerful nationwide sales team and an enhanced technical and support service, but also the approval required to qualify for the German specification business which will in turn enable us to take advantage of the growing opportunities for PC in Central Europe".
Courtaulds has also further strengthened its expanding coatings business in China, with the start-up of two new powder coatings plants, in Guangdong and Jiangsu. The two plants will provide a combined capacity of 13,000tpa, to make Courtaulds one of the leading powder coatings suppliers in the country, with potential sales of some £25 million.
The two new factories are an extension of a 50/50 joint venture powder business with Chang Cheng Chemicals (Taiwan) which was established in 1991.
The investment reflects the expanding powder coatings market in China, estimated to be around 40,000tpa and growing by 15 per cent p.a., which is driven by demand from foreign-invested manufacturing industries and domestic appliance manufacturers.
The larger of the new plants has been purpose-built on a greenfield site in the south of the country, near Shenzhen in the fast-growing Guangdong province, and has a 10,000tpa capacity. The plant will supply customers who are coating domestic products for export. The new £5 million factory has enabled Courtaulds Chang Cheng Coatings (Guangdong) Co. Ltd to vacate its old premises which it had occupied since 1994 and subsequently outgrown. The smaller facility at Suzhou in Jiangsu province, central China, will be located within an existing Courtaulds Coatings facility at Suzhou New District. The new powder coatings venture, Courtaulds Chang Cheng Coatings (Suzhou) Co. Ltd, will provide a strategic foothold in the market by supplying locally-based multinational customers whose products sell to the growing internal market. The initial investment is around £0.5 million.