- Investment of over €1.3 million for a pilot plant at the Felling site.
- The facility will provide resin samples for testing and potential commercial scale-up.
- Start-up is expected in the first quarter of 2016.
- Part-funded by the UK government’s Let’s Grow Regional Growth Fund.
Investment and Purpose
AkzoNobel is investing over €1.3 million to construct a pilot plant for coating resins at its Performance Coatings site in Felling, UK. The facility will produce resin samples for product testing and offer the potential to scale up to commercial manufacturing.
Job Creation and Timeline
The new plant will create three new jobs and safeguard 28 existing positions at the site. The start-up of the facility is expected in the first quarter of 2016.
R&D and Technological Advancements
Adam Bell, Head of the Scale-Up Team, emphasized that in-house resin development is crucial for their coatings R&D efforts. The new facility will enhance the delivery of large-scale resin for testing and streamline the scale-up process from the laboratory to factory manufacturing.
Funding and Site Significance
The project is partially funded by the UK government’s Let’s Grow Regional Growth Fund. The Felling site, which is the largest R&D site for AkzoNobel’s Performance Coatings business, employs around 300 scientists and has received over €30 million in investment over the past five years.
