Global Coatings Leader Celebrates 150 Years of Industry Innovation
with New Regional Office and Refinish Training Centre in Dubai
DUBAI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE: AXTA), a leading global supplier of liquid
and powder coatings, has formally opened its regional office in Dubai’s
Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (JAFZA). Designed to expand its regional
sales and customer service capability, Axalta’s investment responds to
the region’s continued growth that is outperforming other global markets
in automotive industry sales.
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Charlie Shaver, Axalta Chairman and CEO (center), Sobers Sethi, Axalta Vice President, South and East Asia and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region (right), and Fadi Medlej, Axalta Managing Director of MENA (left) and others open Axalta MENA Regional Office in Dubai (Photo: Axalta)
In addition to this strategic milestone in Axalta’s expansion in the
Middle East and North Africa (MENA), the industry leader in refinish
coatings also plans to commission a flagship regional Refinish Training
Centre in Dubai by early 2017. The new facility will enable refinish
technicians to hone their skills and learn how to maximize their use of
Axalta’s refinish brands. Both the office and training center help
commemorate the company’s 150th anniversary in the coatings industry.
“Our investment demonstrates our confidence in the region and our
commitment to serve our regional customers with industry-leading coating
solutions and services,” said Charlie Shaver, Chairman and CEO of
Axalta, who formally opened the new Dubai office today. “Our strength in
both transportation and industrial coatings will enable us to support
the growth of consumer spending on vehicles and the rapid
industrialization being witnessed across the region.”
With the United Arab Emirates topping global growth rates for new car
sales during the first eight months of 2015, the wider Middle East car
sales market is predicted to grow twice as fast as markets in North
America and Western Europe between 2012 and 2022 according to Carmudi*,
a regional automotive publication.
Forecasts of annual light vehicle sales among the member states of the
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the largest economic body in the Middle
East, estimate a surge of 25 percent to nearly 1.75 million new car
sales due to strong economic growth, private sector activity, low
interest rates and government spending.
Added Shaver, “With our new facility, we will be more effective and
efficient in building our brand and enabling our customers to maximize
the benefits of our products, especially our industry leading waterborne
coating systems. Our investment in the Middle East signals our
expectation for additional business opportunities in this growing region
of the world.”
Axalta is an industry leader in the development of products which reduce
the environmental footprint from coatings. Waterborne coatings, other
liquid coatings with low-to-zero volatile organic compound (VOCs)
emissions and powder coatings with no VOCs or targeted hazardous air
pollutants provide a number of options for customers. Axalta’s AquaEC®
electrocoat and Voltatex® Energy Solutions products are
available in tin- and formaldehyde-free formulations, respectively,
while continuing to offer substrates strong protection against corrosion.
“As more customers adopt waterborne systems, they will complete their
jobs faster and provide a better service to car users across the UAE and
greater MENA region,” explained Fadi Medlej, Managing Director of MENA
for Axalta. “Our coatings and application systems combine to offer
environmentally responsible coating solutions which can help meet
sustainability goals across the region, an increasingly important pillar
of regional governments’ development policies.”
* http://www.carmudi.ae/research/
About Axalta Coating Systems – Celebrating 150 Years in the Coatings
Industry
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 150 years of experience in the
coatings industry, the more than 12,800 people of Axalta continue to
find ways to better serve our more than 100,000 customers in 130
countries every day with the finest coatings, application systems and
technology. For more information visit axaltacoatingsystems.com and
follow us on Twitter @axalta and on LinkedIn.
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Source: Axalta Coating Systems