Case study videos
Take a look at some of our initiatives, projects and partnerships which brought new ideas, innovations and color to our customers, and benefits to society.
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Changing lives through color
When you tower high above Turkey’s busiest cruise port and are the first thing seen by thousands of visiting tourists, it’s important that you look good. But for many residents in the town of Kuşadası on Turkey’s Aegean coast, what’s more important is the pleasure and pride they get from living in their homes and communities.
So when we partnered with the local Kuşadası municipality and artists from Venuart via our “Let’s Colour” program, we knew it was our job to help transform lives and create happier homes – using our passion for paint to make a difference.
The project focused on brightening up the hilltop neighborhood of Tepe, where more than 400 living spaces – and the lives of 2,000 residents – have been revitalized. That’s what our “Let’s Colour” program is all about. It uses the power of color to energize people and communities. More than 81 million people around the world can already testify to the benefits it brings.
“It makes us really proud when we see the difference our products can make”
“We love making living spaces more social, pleasurable and habitable, while also inspiring and motivating people through the use of color,” says AkzoNobel’s Chief Operating Officer, Ruud Joosten. “It makes us really proud when we see the difference our products can make.”
Working together with the local community, the project involved using more than 50,000 liters of our Marshall paint brand and is the biggest “Let’s Colour” activity to be staged in Turkey so far.
“This project will make a great contribution to our community,” adds Kuşadası Mayor, Özer Kayalı. “Tepe is the first place seen by tourists when they arrive at Kuşadası port. It makes for a striking panorama, so it’s a crucial location for us. I would like to extend our gratitude to Marshall and Venuart for bringing the “Let’s Colour” project to our town.”
The transformation of Tepe is Marshall’s seventh project under the “Let’s Colour” banner since the program first became active in Turkey in 2010. It will bring the total amount of paint used for the company’s “Let’s Colour” projects globally to well over 1.3 million liters. Nearly 2,300 “Let’s Colour” projects have been completed around the world to date, involving more than 12,000 volunteers.
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Going wild with our aerospace coatings
Airline art reached new heights after we teamed up with aircraft maker Embraer to paint four of its recently launched E190-E2 commercial jets. You can’t exactly hang them on your wall, but they do qualify as masterpieces of creative design.
The eye-catching artworks – displaying an eagle, a tiger, a shark and a snow leopard – were painted with products from our Alumigrip and Aerodur ranges. They showcase the amazing artistry of Clodoaldo Quintana, an in-house technician at Embraer who has been described as having “the artistic talent of a modern day Renoir.” It took him 20 days to finish the eagle, while for the shark and tiger it was around ten days each.
“This project was a huge challenge for us and the quality of the paints was key to achieving the results we wanted”
Rodrigo Silva e Souza,
Marketing Vice-President, EmbraerAll the designs were applied at Embraer’s facility in São José dos Campos, Brazil, which houses a dedicated AkzoNobel color center. It’s manned by a small team who work with Embraer to offer local technical support, color development and paint mixing. Having this available on site helps to reduce the cycle time between ordering a new color and having it ready to be applied to an aircraft by 90%.
“We have a long-standing relationship with Embraer and were thrilled to be involved in this amazing project,” says John Griffin, Managing Director of AkzoNobel’s Aerospace Coatings business. “We pride ourselves on supplying fit-for-purpose, long-lasting color performance and protection. The new animal designs are a fantastic example of this expertise.”
As well as developing the colors and supplying all the products needed to create the striking airline art, our industry-leading base coat/clear coat system was also painted onto the exterior of the four jets.
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Taking innovation to another dimension
Think paint is just paint? Think again. Our products can already clean the air, withstand extreme heat, reduce fuel consumption and cope with conditions on Mars. Now we’re going even further.
We’ve embarked on a boundary-busting quest to find the newest, coolest, smartest and most revolutionary developments out there. We want to work with visionaries, entrepreneurs and innovators. Why? Because we’re ready to stir things up. We want to combine our global scale, know-how and expertise with the ingenious solutions of startups and scale-ups across the planet.
So we’ve launched the Paint the Future startup challenge. It’s designed to connect us with new disruptive technologies and accelerate innovation in the dynamic world of paints and coatings. It will turn exciting potential into brilliant reality.
“Our passion for paint and innovation goes way back and we’re even more excited about the future,” says AkzoNobel CEO, Thierry Vanlancker. “We want to capture the creative genius that flows from open innovation and paint the future together.”
The challenge is being led by the company’s Chief Technology Officer, Klaas Kruithof. “As a technology-driven paints and coatings company, we’re full of knowledge, know-how and resources that we’re ready to share,” he explains. “We have a clear view of what our customers will need and expect in the future, so we’re actively looking to collaborate with forward-thinking partners and take our innovation in all areas to another dimension. The future’s a blank canvas – this is an exciting opportunity to help us paint it.”
Launched in partnership with KPMG, the annual challenge will give the winners the chance to enter into a joint development agreement with AkzoNobel. It’s focused on five key areas:
- Smart application
- Enhanced functionality
- Circular solutions
- Life science infusion
- Predictable performance
Open to early stage tech companies and institutes around the world, the collaborative approach will benefit both sides, with the company committed to working with the winners on sustainable business opportunities.
The finalists will be invited to attend a special awards event in May 2019, when the winners will be announced.
For more information, visit www.letspaintthefuture.com
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Famous abbey puts faith in our coatings
History was made at Westminster Abbey in London during 2018 with the first significant addition to the famous church since 1745. The new £23 million Weston Tower features 500 leaded windows – and every single window frame is protected with our Interpon powder coatings.
The tower provides staircase and lift access to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries, located in the medieval Triforium – an area 16 meters (52 feet) above the abbey’s floor, which has been unused for centuries. More than 300 precious regal and religious artifacts are on display in the “hidden” attic space, which deftly winds its way around the rafters.
Described by some as a “gothic space rocket” and a “steampunk tower”, the new addition has been expertly slotted between the 13th century chapter house and the 16th century Lady Chapel by architect Ptolemy Dean.
Its leaded windows are based on Christopher Wren’s late 17th century additions to the abbey. They sit in frames powder coated with our Interpon D2525 Anodic Bronze finish and BPP600 barrier primer, which provide a perfect color match and long-lasting protection. The use of powder coatings also offers inherent sustainability benefits, such as no solvent emissions and hardly any waste during the application process.
“As the leader in powder coatings, we are very proud to have contributed to such a significant project, which is integral to the history of the UK,” says Daniela Vlad, Managing Director of the company’s Powder Coatings business. Adds the Very Reverend Dr. John Hall, Dean of Westminster: “The views are breathtaking; the space astonishing; the displays fascinating. Visitors can now gain far greater insight into the life and history of the abbey than ever before.”
Westminster Abbey is one of the world’s great churches, welcoming over two million worshippers and visitors annually. It’s the latest in an impressive list of London landmarks to feature our coatings. We’ve already supplied products for the London Eye, the Shard, the Gherkin and Wembley Stadium, to name just a few.
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A record-breaking journey to be proud of
When we became the first team to enter the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race, we knew we were in for an incredible ride. In the end, our campaign was more remarkable than we could have ever imagined.
We finished fourth overall, while also helping to increase global understanding of ocean health. But that hardly tells the full story. On the way, we achieved five podium finishes in the space of six legs (including a leg win), as well as making Volvo Ocean Race history by setting a new 24-hour distance record. As the official supplier of coatings for the seven teams, our products also made a huge contribution during every thrilling maneuver of the 83,000-kilometer race around the world.
Given our long association with the sea, it was fitting that AkzoNobel not only took part, but also became one of the main partners of the race’s sustainability program. We supplied more than 7,000 liters of our International and Awlgrip products during the course of the competition, having developed custom colors for all the competing teams. We even launched a new Awlgrip product during the stopover in Itajaí, Brazil. On a company level, we welcomed 2,000 guests (including 1,500 customers) to the race villages and generated over €74 million of media value.
Record breakers!
602.51 nautical miles
in 24 hoursTeam AkzoNobel was also one of two boats (along with Turn the Tide on Plastic) to be fitted with additional specialist equipment designed to measure the state of the world’s oceans. It was all part of a dedicated science program which has since gone on to win several awards. Between them, the two boats took 86 samples, and scientists found that 93% contained levels of microplastics. The aim of the research was to further our understanding of the extent to which microplastic pollution has now touched even our remotest oceans.
Unsurprisingly, our sailors were in big demand when they weren’t out on the water. They took part in two beach clean-ups with our employees, visited some of our sites and took part in a number of community projects. And, as the race progressed, they became a genuine source of inspiration as they showed the true value of teamwork and winning together.
“It’s very special to compete at this level and it was a privilege to have been part of team AkzoNobel,” said watch captain and now six-time Volvo Ocean Race veteran, Chris Nicholson. “One of the most rewarding aspects of the race is to see people challenged and work together as a team to overcome those obstacles and achieve amazing things. We showed the ability to learn and improve and not allow setbacks to check our progress. Everyone involved has a lot to be proud of.”
