Coatings supplier Hempel has opened its first factory in South Africa, its 26th worldwide, to manufacture coatings for the marine as well as decorative and protective industries and serve customers in sub-Saharan Africa
The company has also acquired its South African toll manufacturer The Coatings Manufacturing Company (TCMC) in a bid to further boost its African footprint.
Kim Junge Andersen, executive vice-president of Hempel, said, “The acquisition of TCMC supports our continued global growth and will open new business possibilities for Hempel in sub-Saharan Africa. The new factory will allow us to reduce lead times, streamline our supply chain, increase our ability to serve the regional market and offer a more complete assortment to our customers in the decorative, protective and marine industries.”
The new plant in South Africa is one of four new factories that Hempel has added to its worldwide production footprint since 2014, added Andersen.
“We created strong growth momentum in 2014 and will continue building on it this year. Our focus is on growing our core segments – decorative, protective and marine. We have also launched several initiatives and products that will help us achieve our growth goals,” noted the executive vice-president.
According to Hempel, it inaugurated its first 100 per cent water-borne coatings factory in Saudi Arabia in February 2014 and a new state-of-the-art factory in India in September 2014. In December 2014, as part of the acquisition of Schaepman, a Dutch supplier of specialised industrial, protective and decorative coatings, Hempel gained a new production facility in The Netherlands.
These acquisitions add specialist products, technologies and manufacturing expertise to Hempel and will further strengthen the company’s presence, product portfolio, customer service and manufacturing capabilities in key sub-segments and regions, said Andersen.
