2002 – AKZONOBEL ACQUISITION OF AWLGRIP

When the world’s leading coatings company decided to expand its presence in the global yacht market in 2002, only the best would do. Which explains AkzoNobel’s acquisition of Awlgrip that same year.

Here are excerpts from an article in April 2002 which include an interview with Tony Britt:

“As international® Paint of AkzoNobel, we have a strong market brand,” Tony Britt, then AkzoNobel’s Director of Global Yacht Coatings explains. “In many consumer and professional segments, International (Interlux) is the leading brand worldwide. However, we’ve found that brand awareness is not always easily transferable to new categories.”

“The Yacht sector is extremely brand aware,” Britt continues, “and to really make an impact you need to be at the top end of the market.” Awlgrip is the world leader in the Yacht Professional Topside segment, making it the easy choice for the acquisition.

“As a small part of US Paint, Awlgrip had limited resources,” says Britt. “Now they are part of a company that is 100% focused on yacht. Our alliance will drive Awlgrip advanced topcoat urethane technology and enable us to produce even more labor-saving, state-of-the-art products. We are fully committed to Awlgrip customers and to building the brand for them. Our extensive worldwide distribution network will also make it easier than ever for customers to get the best coating on the market – with no equal.”

(End of excerpts)

Now, 21 years later, Tony Britt’s comments are shown to be prophetic as the Awlgrip brand continues to be the leader in yacht topside coatings while its R&D teams continue developing cutting edge technology. With the launch of Awlgrip’s Awlcraft 3000 topside coating this year, with its advanced color technology, this incredible saga continues.