Member Article

Work on £100m AkzoNobel facility underway

Work on a £100 million AkzoNobel manufacturing plant will get underway today, following a groundbreaking ceremony at the site in Tyne and Wear.

The world class high tech manufacturing facility is set to become the heart of the firms decorative paints operations, and is set to treble the North East manufacturing capability of the UK’s decorative paints business.

The move to the site in Ashington has reinforced AkzoNobel’s commitment to manufacturing the UK, following a series of significant investment in the company’s fire protection facility and research facilities in Felling Tyne and Wear.

Commenting on the announcement, Wansbeck MP Ian Lavery said: “I am absolutely delighted that construction is starting on the new AkzoNobel site in Ashington. This new high-tech manufacturing plant will provide a huge boost to our local economy and deliver much needed job opportunities for local people.

“The decision to make such a huge investment in Ashington is extremely welcome and hopefully AkzoNobel’s confidence in the town will encourage other companies to also choose Ashington as the location for their business.”

The famous Dulux Dog will also be at the ceremony to represent one of AkzoNobel’s most iconic brands. The new site, which will commence operations in late 2014, will have the manufacturers’ environmental impact in the North East by 60%. Thiswill be achieved by implementing cutting edge technology and the latest in building design, whilst also making sustainability improvements by recycling and reucing waste and water.

In 2014 AkzoNobel will close its current site in Prudhoe, and manufacturing operations in Slough. The Slough plant will continue to be the UK headquarters for marketing and global research and development. The firm is committed to ensuring appropriate support and development is in place for those employees at the current decorative paints factories who wish to move to the new site.

AkzoNobel’s UK Country Director, Guy Williams added: “We are delighted that the building of our world-class factory is commencing today. This is a huge step for AkzoNobel and for the region, and our new plant will be producing paint sustainably for generations to come.

“We’re immensely committed to ensuring we are also a good neighbor, and with that in mind will be looking for ways in which we can have more involvement here in Ashington, whether painting through our ‘Let’s Colour’ programme, or active employee engagement and mentoring schemes such as the Outward Bound Trust.

“This site and build gives us the opportunity to inspire the community, customers, and employees and to be an inspiring colour partner.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .