Axalta Coating Systems

Axalta Coating Systems is an American company specializing in coatings in a wide variety of industrial applications, materials and sectors, such as for example automotive paints. Its corporate headquarters is located in Philadelphia, PA[3] that develops and manufactures coatings for light and commercial vehicles, industrial, and refinish applications. The firm does business in 130 countries, has nearly 13,000 employees, and has more than 100,000 customers.[4]

Axalta Coating Systems Ltd.
TypePublic
IndustryCoatings
Founded1866 (1866)
HeadquartersPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, USA (headquarters)
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Robert Bryant
(CEO)[1]
BrandsAbcite, Alesta, AquaEC, Cromax, Imron, Spies Hecker, Standox, Voltatex
Revenue $4.8 billion (2017)
OwnerBerkshire Hathaway (10%)
Number of employees
12,650[2]
Websitewww.axaltacs.com

Axalta traces its origins to the German firm Herberts Gmbh, which began in 1866 coating carriages before moving to automotive painting. Through later mergers the company became DuPont Performance Coatings (DPC), part of the American DuPont chemical empire, and was rebranded as Axalta Coating Systems after being purchased by The Carlyle Group in 2013. Axalta went public on the New York Stock Exchange in November 2014 and since then has become fully independent. Carlyle Group exited their last ownership stake in Axalta in 2015.

The company was the sponsor of four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports car, a relationship which dated back to Gordon's first NASCAR Cup Series race in 1992, and today is an executive assistant (Global Business Advisor, reports to CEO Charles Shaver). Axalta currently sponsors Alex Bowman in the No. 88 car and William Byron in the No. 24 car.

History

The firm's first products were developed in Germany in 1866 to protect carriages from the gravel of dirt roads. In 1920, the company created a quick-drying, multi-color lacquer line for automotive painting.[4] Operating as Herberts Gmbh, the company grew under Kurt Herberts,[5] introducing the popular automobile finish Standox in 1955.[6]

In 1999 Herberts merged with DuPont Automotive Finishes,[7] a transport coating systems technology company that had been started in 1922 in Wilmington, Delaware, to form DPC. In 2012, the private equity firm The Carlyle Group announced its plans to purchase and discontinue DPC.[8] The Carlyle Group completed the sale in February 2013 and founded Axalta.[9] On November 12, 2014, the firm completed its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: AXTA).[10]

On January 21, 2015, Axalta and Chinese industrial coatings firm Shanghai Kinlita Chemical formed a partnership to operate in China.[11] In April 2015, Berkshire Hathaway invested $560 million in Axalta Coating Systems.[12] In July 2016, the firm acquired United Paint and Chemical Corp.'s automotive interior coatings business.[13]

The company currently operates in North America, South America, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.[14] The activities for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa region (EMEA) are based in Basel, Switzerland.[15] On November 7, 2018, the company held its grand opening of a new research and development center located at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard known as the Global Innovation Center. Axalta's Global Innovation Center is the largest coatings research and development (R&D) center in the world.[16]

In 1953 Axalta predecessor DuPont published the first annual Color Popularity Report, the first in the industry to have extensive global data in one report. The firm developed L,a,b color equations, an important component of modern color science. It introduced the first waterborne electrical steel coating in the industry in the 1960s.[4]

In October 2017, AkzoNobel approached competitor Axalta Coating Systems over a potential combination.[17] Nippon Paint Holdings Co. attempted to buy the company in November 2017, but the deal failed to reach an agreement.[18]

Products

Among Axalta's oldest products are Standox and Spies Hecker. Cromax, a water-based product, and the industrial paints Nap-Gard, a powder coating for oil and gas pipeline companies, and Voltatex for electrical insulation, were introduced in the 1990s.[4] Other products made by Axalta include Abcite, Alesta, AquaEC, Audurra, Centari, Challenger, Harmonized Coating Technologies, Imron, and Nason.[19]

Motorsports
William Byron's Axalta-sponsored car at Richmond Raceway in 2018

Axalta currently sponsors the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 of NASCAR Cup Series driver Alex Bowman and the No. 24 Camaro of William Byron.[20] Previously, the company sponsored four-time series champion Jeff Gordon's No. 24 car, a relationship which dated back to Axalta's days as DuPont and Gordon's first Cup race in 1992. As of the 2016 Brickyard 400, Gordon has won three times in an Axalta-sponsored car, all of which were in 2014.[21] During Gordon's career, he ran variations of his Axalta scheme to promote its brands such as Cromax[22] and Standox.[23] On February 12, 2015, Gordon was hired by Axalta as a global business advisor.[1] During the year, Axalta sponsored Regan Smith's JR Motorsports Camaro for the Axalta Faster. Tougher. Brighter. 200 at Phoenix International Raceway; the company has been a partner of the team since 2008.[24]

Axalta provides paint for the entire Hendrick team, along with three other NASCAR teams: NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series' Kyle Busch Motorsports, JR Motorsports, and the Cup Series' Stewart-Haas Racing. IndyCar Series team Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing also receives paint from Axalta.[25] In addition to sponsoring Gordon, Axalta sponsored the June Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway, known as the Axalta "We Paint Winners" 400[26] (now known as the Pocono 400) and the March Xfinity Series race at Phoenix International Raceway, called the Axalta Faster. Tougher. Brighter. 200 until 2017, when DC Solar replaced it as sponsor.[27][28]

Axalta also sponsors snocross team Judnick Motorsport/Polaris Racing, who field riders Ross Martin and James Johnstad in the AMSOIL Championship Snocross series. The sponsorship lasts through 2017.[29]

In 2015, Axalta became the title sponsor of the C2 Team, which competes in Stock Car Brasil.[30] The team currently fields cars for Júlio Campos and Gabriel Casagrande.[31]

Through its Spies Hecker brand, Axalta provides paint for Formula One team Mercedes AMG F1. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff stated the lightness of the paint allows the team's Silver Arrows cars to drop in weight, assisting in performance.[32]

References
  1. Pennell, Jay (February 12, 2015). "Jeff Gordon named Axalta global business advisor". Foxsports.com. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  2. "Company Overview of Axalta Coating Systems Ltd". Bloomberg Business. February 14, 2015. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  3. "Axalta - SEC filings". Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  4. "Axalta celebrates 150 years in the coatings industry". European Coatings Journal. January 14, 2016. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  5. "Kurt Herberts, the businessman". Standox. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  6. "1955 - The beginning of Standox". Standox. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  7. "DuPont Colour and Coating Technologies". DuPont Global. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  8. "The Carlyle Group to Buy DuPont Performance Coatings Business for $4.9 Billion". The Carlyle Group. August 29, 2012. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
  9. Mider, Zachary; Kaskey, Jack (August 30, 2012). "Carlyle to Buy DuPont's Auto-Paint Unit for $4.9 Billion". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
  10. "Axalta raised $975M in IPO - Philadelphia Business Journal". Philadelphia Business Journal. Retrieved 2016-07-27.
  11. "Axalta, Kinlita Sign Deal". BodyshopBiz. January 21, 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-06-29. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  12. Gara, Antoine (April 7, 2015). "Warren Buffett Adds To Automotive Bets With $560 Million Axalta Investment". Forbes. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  13. Froling, Blake (July 22, 2016). "Axalta acquires United Paint's automotive coatings business". Automative News. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  14. "Axalta - appoint Dries Van den Burgh as Cromax brand manager for EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa)". ABP Club. February 9, 2015. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  15. "Axalta opens Europe, Middle East and Africa management headquarters in Basel, Switzerland". Axalta Coating Systems. August 8, 2016. Archived from the original on November 17, 2017. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  16. "Axalta Opens World's Largest Research & Development Center Dedicated to Coatings and Color at the Navy Yard in Philadelphia". PR Newswire. November 7, 2018. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  17. Pooler, Michael (October 27, 2017). "Akzo Nobel approaches competitor Axalta on potential $30bn tie-up". Financial Times. United Kingdom. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  18. Kaskey, Jack (November 20, 2017). "Nippon Paint Fails to Strike Deal With Buffett-Backed Axalta". Bloomberg. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  19. "AXALTA COATING SYSTEMS LTD" (PDF). Axalta Coating Systems. December 31, 2015. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  20. Durr, Tim (March 1, 2017). "Axalta expands partnership with JR Motorsports, William Byron". Foxsports.com. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  21. "NASCAR Sprint Cup Results (wins)". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  22. Boarman, John (March 30, 2013). "Jeff Gordon CroMax Pro paint scheme unveiled". Tireball. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  23. Boarman, John (August 30, 2013). "Jeff Gordon sporting Axalta Standox paint scheme at Michigan". Tireball. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  24. "JR Motorsports and Axalta Teaming Up for Phoenix Race". JR Motorsports. March 5, 2015. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
  25. "The Cars". Axalta Racing. Archived from the original on February 15, 2015. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  26. "Axalta to sponsor June Sprint Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway". Foxsports.com. January 27, 2015. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
  27. "DC SOLAR SIGNS ON AS TITLE SPONSOR OF SPRING NASCAR XFINITY SERIES RACE AT PHOENIX RACEWAY". Phoenix International Raceway. November 12, 2016. Retrieved June 4, 2017.
  28. Sunnucks, Mike (February 10, 2015). "Longtime Jeff Gordon sponsor takes naming rights for Saturday Nascar race at PIR". Phoenix Business Journal. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
  29. "Axalta Sponsors Polaris Racing & Judnick Motorsports in AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series". Yahoo! Finance. August 28, 2014. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
  30. "Axalta terá equipe representado suas cores na Stock Car" (PDF). Axalta Coating Systems (in Portuguese). March 17, 2015. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
  31. "Stock Car – Axalta C2 Team confirma Julio Campos e Gabriel Casagrande para 2016" (in Portuguese). Auto Racing. November 8, 2015. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
  32. Lewin, Andrew (January 12, 2017). "Mercedes signs Axalta as official 2017 supplier". F1I.com. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
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