Hempel Opens its First Factory in Africa
From left to right: Kim Junge Andersen (Group Executive Vice President and CFO) and Johann Geldenhuis (TCMC's General Manager) shaking hands after the deal was signed. (Photo: Hempel)
From left to right: Johann Geldenhuis and Kim Junge Andersen standing outside Hempel's first factory in Africa. (Photo: Hempel)
Hempel has opened its first factory in Africa, its 26th worldwide, to manufacture coatings for the marine as well as decorative and protective industries to serve customers in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Further boosting its growth plans, Hempel acquired its South African toll manufacturer, The Coatings Manufacturing Company (TCMC). Since 2011, Hempel South Africa has partnered with TCMC, which is located close to Johannesburg, to better serve customers in the region; the partnership covered the HEMPATEX and HEMPALIN range of products.
Hempel’s Group Executive Vice President & CFO Kim Junge Andersen commented, “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, as part of its One Hempel – One Ambition growth strategy, the company said.
Hempel inaugurated its first 100 percent waterborne coatings factory in the Middle East (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 specialized industrial, protective and decorative coatings, Hempel gained a new production facility in the Netherlands.
Last month, Hempel also signed a binding agreement to acquire Jones-Blair Company, a North American coatings supplier for the protective and waterproofing markets, which has a production facility in Dallas, Texas. The transaction is expected to close in early March 2015, subject to regulatory approval.
According to Hempel, these acquisitions add specialist products, technologies and manufacturing expertise to the company and will further strengthen its presence, product portfolio, customer service and manufacturing capabilities in key sub-segments and regions.
“We created strong growth momentum in 2014 and we will continue building on it,” Kim Junge Andersen said, adding, “2015 it is an exciting year for Hempel. We are celebrating 100 years of being a successful and responsible business. It also marks the continuation of our growth strategy. Our focus is still on growing our core segments – Decorative, Protective and Marine – and we have launched several initiatives and products that will help us achieve our growth goals.”
