Global Innovation Center to be Hub of Company's Worldwide R&D and
Dynamic Addition to Business Campus
PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE: AXTA), a leading global supplier of liquid
and powder coatings, announced today that its new Global Innovation
Center will be located at The Navy Yard in Philadelphia. The 175,000
square foot facility will be home to Axalta’s global research, product
development, and technology initiatives and partner with the Company’s
other technology centers in the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific.
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Axalta Chairman and CEO Charlie Shaver (Photo: Axalta)
The project is being developed by Liberty Property Trust and Synterra
Partners, and Axalta has entered into a long-term lease agreement for
the building. Project construction is expected to be complete in late
2017. Upon reaching full operation in 2018, Axalta will bring at least
190 new jobs to Philadelphia with the possibility of additional
positions in the future. Axalta’s global corporate headquarters is
already located in Center City Philadelphia, and its North America
headquarters is located in Glen Mills, PA with a customer training
center in Exton, PA.
Axalta Chairman and CEO Charlie Shaver, Pennsylvania Secretary for Labor
& Industry Kathy Manderino (representing Governor Wolf), and
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter announced the project at The Navy
Yard. Other officials participating in today’s announcement included:
Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Alan Greenberger, City Councilman
Kenyatta Johnson, PIDC President John Grady, and Liberty Property Trust
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer William Hankowsky. Chris
Lehmann, Principal of Philadelphia’s Science Leadership Academy (SLA),
also spoke at the event.
“Innovation is central to Axalta’s growth and ability to meet the needs
of our customers years into the future,” explained Shaver. “Coatings are
a critical component of so many everyday products. Cars and other
vehicles, motors and electronic components, automotive parts, white
goods and countless other materials exposed to the elements rely on
coatings to make them not only beautiful, but more durable,
energy-efficient, and productive. Our Global Innovation Center will
ensure Axalta sets the pace for coatings technology around the world.”
Axalta’s team of scientists and technicians at the Global Innovation
Center will develop next generation coatings products and keep pace with
emerging application needs. Vehicles increasingly use light weight
plastic and composite materials to save fuel, which require special
coatings formulations. Regulations and customer demands call for newer
waterborne coatings. Customers engaged in vehicle manufacturing and
repair require faster and more productive application systems and
technologies. Developing products to suit these and other needs will be
the mission of the Global Innovation Center and Axalta’s worldwide
research and development network.
"Axalta locating its Global Innovation Center in Philadelphia is
tremendous news for Pennsylvania's workforce," Secretary Manderino said.
"The addition of nearly 200 high-paying jobs will stimulate the local
economy and help to spur continued growth at The Navy Yard in
Philadelphia. Governor Wolf and I look forward to seeing more companies
make Pennsylvania home, as we continue to rebuild the workforce and
encourage a pro-business climate here."
“Axalta’s decision to expand further in Philadelphia and bring its
Global Innovation Center to the Navy Yard is further evidence of
Philadelphia’s standing as one of the nation’s leading innovation hubs
and a place for exciting businesses to start, stay and grow,” said Mayor
Michael A. Nutter. “We were excited to welcome Axalta’s global
headquarters to Philadelphia in 2013 and this additional presence,
bringing almost 200 new jobs by 2018, is a signal of its commitment to
our city.”
As one of the region’s most vibrant and progressive business locations,
The Navy Yard provides the perfect setting for Axalta’s expanded
research and product development capabilities. Proximity to the
Company’s global corporate headquarters in Center City provides easy
access for Axalta staff to move between headquarters and the new Global
Innovation Center, allowing for ease of collaboration and partnership.
The Navy Yard’s dynamic campus offers an exceptional workplace to
attract new talent as Axalta continues to expand its workforce and
develop products. The campus is ideal for researchers accustomed to
academic settings, providing an environment conducive to teamwork and
the sharing of ideas in a variety of unique indoor and outdoor settings.
“There has been a long history of innovation at The Navy Yard - from the
design and construction of state-of-the-art warships and commercial
vessels, to today’s leading companies working on innovations like
electric microgrids, energy efficiency, new cancer therapies and now
coating technologies that will be used on everyday products around the
world,” said John Grady, President of PIDC. “We are thrilled that Axalta
Coating Systems has chosen to locate its Global Innovation Center at The
Navy Yard and continue this tradition of innovation for years to come.”
The Global Innovation Center, designed by Erdy McHenry Architecture,
will feature a west-facing façade that frames views of League Island
Park while providing solar shading for the building’s interior. The
building’s central location, just two blocks from Central Green, allows
employees to take advantage of The Navy Yard’s unique outdoor amenities
essential in creating the campus-like setting.
“In a decade of development at The Navy Yard, Liberty has sought to
create an environment uniquely suited to dynamic companies such as
Axalta,” said William P. Hankowsky, Liberty Property Trust President and
CEO. “We are excited to have Axalta join the expanding number of
companies and talented people who have found The Navy Yard the perfect
inspirational environment to create, innovate and grow.”
“Product development is a collaborative endeavor,” explained Barry
Snyder, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at
Axalta. “Axalta’s technology spans polymer, colloid and materials
science which bring chemistry, rheology and optics to bear on coating
formulation and application. The Global Innovation Center will bring
together our world-class experts and next-generation tools to deliver
solutions that will meet the needs of our customers around the world.”
Today’s event at The Navy Yard also provided an opportunity to announce
a new relationship between Axalta and the Science Leadership Academy
(SLA), a highly-regarded high school that is a partnership between The
School District of Philadelphia and The Franklin Institute. Axalta will
provide financial support to the School and develop opportunities to
establish mentoring programs with students when the Global Innovation
Center is occupied. Support for SLA is part of Axalta’s broader
commitment to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)
disciplines which are critical to the nation’s economic development and
competitiveness, as well as to Axalta’s commercial growth.
"As a school with a focus on both innovation and STEM, we are thrilled
to help celebrate Axalta's new global innovation center at The Navy
Yard,” said Chris Lehmann, Principal of the Science Leadership Academy.
"Having Axalta in Philadelphia is a powerful benefit to the engineering
students especially at SLA and students everywhere. This kind of growth
in the field of engineering will inspire students and the next
generation of engineers to dream big."
About Axalta Coating Systems
Axalta is a leading global company focused solely on coatings and
providing customers with innovative, colorful, beautiful and sustainable
solutions. From light OEM vehicles, commercial vehicles and refinish
applications to electric motors, buildings and pipelines, our coatings
are designed to prevent corrosion, increase productivity and enable the
materials we coat to last longer. With nearly 150 years of experience in
the coatings industry, the more than 12,800 people of Axalta continue to
find ways to serve our more than 120,000 customers in 130 countries
better every day with the finest coatings, application systems and
technology. For more information visit axaltacoatingsystems.com
and follow us @axalta on Twitter and on LinkedIn.
About The Navy Yard
The Navy Yard is a 1,200-acre, dynamic urban development offering the
Philadelphia region a unique and centrally located waterfront business
campus committed to smart energy innovation and sustainability. The Navy
Yard is home to more than 11,500 employees and 145 companies in the
office, industrial/manufacturing, and research and development sectors,
occupying 7.0 million square feet of real estate in a mix of historic
buildings and new high-performance and LEED®-certified
construction. PIDC, Philadelphia’s public-private economic development
corporation, is the master developer of The Navy Yard. For more
information, please visit www.navyyard.org
and follow us @NavyYardPhila on Twitter.
About PIDC
PIDC is Philadelphia’s public-private economic development corporation.
A non-profit founded in 1958 by the City of Philadelphia and the Greater
Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, PIDC’s mission is to spur investment,
support business growth, and foster developments that create jobs,
revitalize neighborhoods, and drive growth to every corner of
Philadelphia. Over the last 57 years, PIDC has invested more than $11.7
billion of financing and more than 3,000 acres of land sales – which has
leveraged over $21 billion in total investment and assisted in retaining
and creating hundreds of thousands of jobs in Philadelphia.
In its master developer role at The Navy Yard, PIDC manages all aspects
of the property’s management and development, including master planning,
leasing, property management, infrastructure development, utility
operation, and structuring development transactions. For more
information about PIDC, visit www.PIDCphila.com
and follow us @PIDCphila on Twitter.
About Liberty Property Trust
Liberty Property Trust (NYSE: LPT) is a leader in commercial real
estate, serving customers in the United States and United Kingdom
through the development, acquisition, ownership and management of
superior office and industrial properties. Liberty's 105 million square
foot portfolio includes 700 properties which provide office,
distribution and light manufacturing facilities to 1,700 tenants. At the
Philadelphia Navy Yard, Liberty, in connection with its joint venture
partner, Synterra Partners, has developed or is under construction on
more than 1,500,000 million square feet representing $343 million in
private investment to date. For more information visit www.libertyproperty.com.
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Source: Axalta Coating Systems