AKZONOBEL Origin The name AkzoNobel derives from the 1994 merger between the Dutch conglomerate Akzo

and the Swedish conglomerate Nobel Industries. This move marked the culmination of more than a century of acquisitions and mergers that created the two conglomerates. It is active in the fields of decorative paints, performance coatings and specialty chemicals. Headquartered in Amsterdam, the company has activities in more than 80 countries, and employs approximately 55,000 people. Sales in 2010 were EUR 14.6 billion

History AkzoNobel has a long and distinguished history. Since its inception in 1646 theyve constantly delivered technical and product innovation. For example, in the 19th century they pioneered industrial-scale chemical manufacture. More recently theyve led the way with high-tech coatings and artificial fibers. Some of the companies that Akzo had acquired could be traced as far back as the 18th century (Sikkens, Bemberg and Boldoot), while the earliest origins of a Nobel Industries subsidiary stem back to the 17th century (Bofors). The milestone mergers and divestments are the formation of AKZO in 1969, the merger with Nobel Industries in 1994 forming Akzo Nobel, and the divestment of its pharmaceutical business and the merger with ICI in 2007/2008 resulting in current day AkzoNobel

Milestones
1646 Bofors forge is founded in Sweden. 1777 Det Holmbladske Selskab, now Sadolin, is founded in Denmark. 1792 Painter and decorator Wiert Willem Sikkens starts making Sikkens lacquers in the Dutch town of Groningen. 1871 KemaNobel is established in Sweden. More than a hundred years later, in 1984, KemaNobel will merge with Bofors to form Nobel Industries, which will in turn be acquired by Akzo in 1994. 1895 Alfred Nobel (the man behind the Nobel Prize) founds Elektrokemiska Aktiebolaget known as Eka in Bengtsfors, Sweden. Its aim is to make chlorine and alkali. Today Eka Chemicals is AkzoNobel's Pulp & Paper Chemicals business. 1918 Koninklijke Nederlandse Zoutindustrie (KZO) kick-starts the Dutch salt industry in response to salt shortages during World War I. 1923 Saal van Zwanenberg establishes Organon to produce insulin from the pancreases of animals. 1968 UK man-made fiber company Courtaulds acquires International Paints. 1969 Algemeene Kunstzijde Unie NV (AKU) merges with Koninklijke Zwanenberg Organon (KZO) to form AKZO.

1994 Akzo and Nobel Industries merge to form AkzoNobel. 1998 AkzoNobel acquires UK company Courtaulds. Their products include high-tech industrial coatings and man-made fibers such as Courtelle and Tencel. 2007 AkzoNobel sells Organon BioSciences NV to Schering-Plough Corporation. 2008 AkzoNobel acquires Imperial Chemical Industries PLC (ICI). Please find all reports relating to the former ICI

Vision Tomorrows Answers Today Mission To be the partner of first choice for customers and suppliers, ensuring sustained leadership positions in the markets where we compete, delivering long-term business value through a high performance culture, innovation, ethics and responsible care. Awards and Recognition
The largest global paints and coatings company, a major producer of specialty chemicals, a Global Fortune 500 company and are consistently ranked as one of the leaders on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes Products

Some of the recognized brands are the following Decorative Paints 1. DULUX : Dulux is the world's leading brand of premium quality paint, providing DIY users and professionals with the help and inspiration to achieve lasting good looks. 2. Coral : When you think of Brazil, you think of vibrant colors and life. Coral has provided this color since 1954. Our paints and decorative coatings have been part of the lives of most Brazilians. 3. Devoe Paint : Devoe Paint was the first American paint brand, with origins dating back to 1754. Sold exclusively through independent dealers nationwide, Devoe Paints offers a complete portfolio of specially-formulated coatings for virtually any application including residential, architectural, commercial and industrial. 4. Hammerite : Hammerite keeps rust at bay and provides surfaces with full protection from the elements. 5. Levis : Inspiration for trendy color combinations. Painting systems for doors and windows. Long-lasting coatings for rusty radiators. Whatever customers want from a paint, we can deliver. 6. Sadolin : Sadolin goes back over 200 years. A lot has changed since then, but one thing remains the same: our passion for timber. This passion, combined with our commitment to producing quality products, has made us one of the worlds foremost specialists in woodcare.

7. Sikkens : Calm or happy? Warm or creative? Color doesnt just make a building or room look good. It can add personality and mood, too.

Performance Coatings 1. Akzonobel Aerospace Coatings : ANAC leads the way in aerospace coatings 2. Awlgrip : Awlgrip has developed high performance coatings specifically for the yacht industry since 1973. 3. Chartek : Chartek is the market leading epoxy in tumescent passive fire protection coating. Used extensively in the offshore oil and gas market and increasingly specified in the high risk onshore oil refining, gas processing, petrochemical and chemical industries 4. Interpon : These solvent-free paints help protect everything from metal furniture to window frames, radiators, pipes and cars. 5. Resicoat : Resicoat protects pipelines, valves, reinforcing steel and fittings from corrosion. It also does a good job of insulating electrical components. 6. Zweihorn : One of the leading manufacturers of stains, paints and glazes for the professional finishing of wood surfaces.

Specialty Chemicals 1. Beromocoll : Bermocoll is a range of non-ionic cellulose ethers. 2. Butanox : is the worlds leading brand of methyl ethyl ketone peroxides (MEKP). These products are used for the curing of thermoset resins and coatings. 3. Eka : It is used by pulp and paper-making industries around the world. Customers use them for everything from pulping and de-inking right through to coating special paper grades. 4. Ferrazone : A brand name for sodium feredetate, an iron compound used for the treatment of iron-deficiency anemia. 5. Jozo Salt : Used in food processing, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, electrolysis and de-icing. 6. Kromasil : Introduced in 1988, Kromasil is a silica-based packing material used for the chromatographic treatment of active pharmaceutical substances, including insulin. Financial Performance Corporate Social Responsibility 1. Carbon Management
The urgency of the climate change problem prompted AkzoNobel to establish a new Position Statement on Climate Change and Man-made Carbon Emissions and Carbon Policy in 2009. AkzoNobel endorses the Copenhagen Communiqu on Climate Change issued by the Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change. The communiqu states that the Copenhagen agreement must establish a global emissions cap and long-term reduction pathway for all greenhouse gas emissions and sources for the period 2013 to 2050. Developed countries will need to take on immediate and deep emission reduction commitments that are much higher than the global average, while developing countries must draw up their own emission reduction plans in line with their common but differentiated responsibilities and capabilities. Deployment of clean technologies will

be accelerated at sector level through robust funding solutions, technology transfer and capacity building. The least developed economies need additional assistance including increased and adequate financing and expanded cooperation to help them adapt to and join the new low-carbon economy. The full text of the Copenhagen Communiqu can be found here . While our significant energy-using business units already have a long track record of improving energy efficiency and adapting fuel mix to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and potential carbon costs, we recognized that managing carbon along the supply chain and during product application by our customers would provide even greater opportunities across the total business.

Carbon policy work initiated in 2007 emphasized that the impact of carbon on our business extends well beyond emissions from our own production processes. Early in 2008 we embarked on a coordinated program to develop a policy which would be relevant for our diverse business portfolio. The Industrial Chemicals business led the way, developing a framework for measuring carbon footprint of products and facilities, based on the international Greenhouse Gas Protocol and life cycle thinking, along with a rigorous process to identify and quantify improvement opportunities. The framework was tested with the World Resources Institute and several Dutch and Swedish NGOs and is described in more detail in the AkzoNobel 2008 Report . In the course of 2008 six business units, from across the business areas, have tested this framework for their product portfolio. The pilots included Decorative Paints UK who had independently developed the impact analyser, a product foot-printing tool based on a similar framework, in partnership with the UK sustainability organization Forum for the Future. In parallel the AkzoNobel Sourcing Department worked with suppliers to measure the carbon footprint of eighteen key raw materials.

The outcome of the projects provides a strong, credible basis for the carbon policy and improvement targets now being developed - which will help to drive carbon costs (and emissions) from our products.

AkzoNobels Carbon Policy Targets and Ambitions

AkzoNobel will measure the cradle-to-gate carbon footprint of its key value chains in 2009 and update these measurements every 3 years. AkzoNobel will reduce its cradle-to-gate carbon footprint by 10 % per metric ton of product by 2015 compared to 2009. AkzoNobel aims to control its absolute scope 1 & 2 greenhouse gas emissions (based on its current business portfolio) no higher than 2009 levels by offsetting organic growth entirely by energy efficiency and fuel mix improvements. AkzoNobel strives for a paradigm shift in carbon management through continuous innovation, aiming to reduce cradle-to-gate carbon footprint by 20-25 % per ton of product by 2020, compared to 2009. AkzoNobel will provide carbon-efficient solutions to customers contributing to the existing AkzoNobel objective of 30 % annual sales from eco-premium solutions by 2015.

We support transparent disclosure and business initiatives calling for urgent inter-governmental action. We are signatories of the UN Global Compact Caring for Climate platform as well as the Prince of Wales's Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change Bali (2007) and Poznan (2008) Communiqus urging action towards an international UN Climate Change treaty at the 2009 Copenhagen conference.

ECO Premium Solutions

Creating Value from Ecopremium solutions

The AkzoNobel Eco-premium solutions concept was born in 2007 when we were looking for ways of translating the eco-innovation challenge into an operational target for our company. Conceptually, the eco-innovation challenge is well described by the well known and widely accepted definition of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development: The delivery of competitively priced goods and services that satisfy human needs and bring quality of life, while progressively reducing ecological impacts and resource intensity to a level at least in line with the Earths estimated carrying capacity. This single phrase represents an enormous challenge for AkzoNobel and the international Business Community at large. To help tackling this challenge the Eco-premium solutions concept has been created. Eco-premium solutions help to create value for our business and for our customers: they provide top line growth opportunities because of their improved performance in areas such as raw material use, manufacturing processes and product innovation. The first-ever inventory of our Ecopremium portfolio made in 2007 revealed that we had a turn-over from Eco-premium solutions of 18 %. We have a target to increase the share of turnover from eco-premium solutions to at least 30 percent by 2015. Our performance regarding Eco-premium solutions and examples can be found in the AkzoNobel report. Examples of Eco-premium solutions can be found in the AkzoNobel 2008 Report: Decorative Paints:

No compromise : creating an environmentally sustainable paint product for the professional market. Pure and simple : launching VOC-free and odorless indoor paints in the US and Canada Clearing the air : huge success for a formaldehyde absorbing indoor paint in the Chinese market

Performance Coatings

Fertile ground : developing a wood adhesive from non-toxic, renewable resources Let us spray : energy efficient two-in-one baking of powder coatings for automotive OEM Prevention and cure : increasing productivity and lowering VOC emissions with a new highperformance anti-corrosion coating Trigger Happy : an innovative and energy-saving combination of a UV LED spraygun and a UV clearcoat for car repair shops. A thirst for innovation : launching an ultra-flexible lacquer for lightweight and fully recyclable steel cans

Specialty Chemicals

Clean and green : a readily biodegradable and renewable-raw-material-based chelating agent for the detergent industry

A need for speed : increasing productivity and reducing raw material and energy costs in the paper industry by innovative retention technology Easy rider : saving fuel and improving working conditions in the paving business by a new asphalt additive Going solar : providing ultra-pure key chemicals for a new breed for solar cell

Future Plans 1. Start with the frontline leaders to shore up their skills and then work the training up the leadership ranks of the organization. The challenge coupled with this approach will mean training 11,000 people in the first wave of delivery. 2. Future plans include: training frontline employees in Situational Self Leadership (an additional 3,000 mid-level managers), train 500 senior leaders in Situational Leadership II, utilize Blanchards 21 Days to Becoming an Effective Situational Leader product to sustain, and imbed the concepts of SLII into their culture. 3. India's role is going to be vital along with China and Brazil in contributing to the future global growth of Azko Nobel. 4. Use of approved non-persistent biocides and optimizing biocide levels to ensure products which release minimal amounts of biocide and active research / development programs that develop efficient but greener antifouling products.
Suggestions 1. Capitalizing on emerging Asian Markets is critical. 2. With more advertising like Asian paints, Nerolac and Berger Paints they can create more brand awareness for their lesser known products. 3. Being an international company and financially strong company they can use their muscle power to enter potential markets in a strong way. 4. Wide variety of products ranging from paints to industrial chemicals to organic chemicals provides them scope of diversification compared to other conventional paint companies 5. Continuous R&Ds with international facilities and minds coming together has helped them stay at par with competitors. 6. Look for new destinations as European markets are in bad shape and growth opportunities very limited. 7. Local competitors offer few products at lesser price