Axalta Coating Systems, a leading global supplier of liquid and powder coatings, has begun construction on a new Asia Pacific R&D and technology centre. The new facility, which has been approved by Axalta’s Board of Directors, will be located in Shanghai’s Minhang Industrial Development District. The Centre will feature product development and application laboratories, as well as technical support capabilities that will serve the company’s global light vehicle OEM, commercial vehicle, refinish and industrial customers. The new facility, which is scheduled to open in Q2 of 2016, will also house the company’s global refinish colour development centre and a new training centre for the company’s refinish customers.The new 15,500m2 (165,000ft2) facility will be designed for the more than 500 Axalta personnel engaged in its R&D, product development and technology support across the Asia Pacific region. The facility will enable Axalta to build on its legacy of innovation and capitalise on its existing regional R&D network based in China. Today, Axalta has R&D and technology capabilities, as well as a customer training centre in Shanghai, a new OEM technology development centre adjacent to the company’s manufacturing centre in the Jiading district of Shanghai and a technology centre within the company’s operations centre in Changchun. The facility will become Axalta’s largest technology centre in Asia Pacific and join Axalta’s global R&D and laboratory network, integrating development capabilities in the region with those in Europe, Latin America and the USA.“This new facility in Shanghai will help us meet the growing demand for innovative coatings in the global market and especially those of our expanding customer base in China,” explained Charlie Shaver, Axalta Chairman and CEO. “The new facility will enable Axalta to streamline our ability to rapidly develop world-class products with benefits that include more advanced protective properties, superior temperature performance and additional durability. We’ve been a pioneer in the coatings industry and our new Shanghai centre will keep us in the vanguard of product innovation and development.”The new laboratory will house the latest generation paint formulation, colour development, dispersion, resin development, spray application and analytical characterisation facilities, further strengthening Axalta’s position as a premier coatings solution provider. With well-designed facilities and a focus on optimum workflow, the R&D centre will be engineered to facilitate fast, high-quality product development that will help enhance productivity for Axalta customers in the region and around the world.“With this new centre, Axalta will be positioned to develop and bring to the Chinese market and the region the most advanced coatings products in the world,” said Dr Barry Snyder, Axalta’s Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer. “We envision that leading edge technology developments from China will also flow outwards from the region to find their way into products used by our customers in rest of the world. In this way no matter where our global customers call home or operate, they will benefit from our global perspective.”
