| Type | Limited company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Paints |
| Founded | 1881 |
| Headquarters | Gateshead, UK |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Key people | Bob Taylor, Managing Director[1] |
| Products | Marine coatings, Protective coatings, Yacht paints |
| Revenue | € 1,350 million[1] |
| Employees | 5,500[1] |
| Website | www.akzonobel.com/international |
International Paint, often abbreviated as International, is the leading brand of the Marine and Protective Coatings (M&PC) business unit of AkzoNobel. It is the world's largest brand of marine coating, of protective coatings, as well as yacht paints.
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In 1881, the German brothers Max and Albert Holzapfel, and Charles Petrie founded the Holzapfel Compositions Company Ltd., in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, producing marine coatings for the local shipping industry. The name International was then coined as their paint brand. The company expanded for many years, moving first to larger premised Gateshead, and in 1904 to a large factory in Felling-on-Tyne, where the 21st century headquarters are still located.[2][3]
As early as 1889, the company expanded production in overseas countries, such as Russia, Denmark, Italy and Germany, and in 1901 to the United States, where it was registered under the name International Paint Co Inc, in. New Jersey, with production in Brooklyn, New York. In the period before the First World War, new factories were addded in Sweden, France, and Japan. During the war, the company was formally known as International Paints, and formally moved it headquarters to London, with further growth between the two World Wars to Spain, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand, and also into domestic and industrial paints.[2]
In 1968, Courtaulds had already established a significant paints business, and acquired International Paint, merging all coating interesting under the International name. The period until the end of the 1980s saw many company additions, new markets and growth, as well as consolidations, and disentanglements, and reduction of markets that they supplied. AkzoNobel took over Courtaulds in 1998, when the Coatings & Sealants division was Courtaulds most profitable activity. International Paint is now the leading brand name of the AkzoNobel Marine & Protective Coatings (M&PC) business unit.[2]
International Paint is the world market leader in heavy duty marine coatings, in yacht paints, and in protective coatings for building construction. The company has approximately 5,500 employees, in more than 50 countries. The Felling site is the largest, with close to 1000 employees, hosting the business unit headquarters, brand staffing and production, as well as personnel of other AkzoNobel business units.[1][4][5][6][7]
Manufacturing facilities for International Paint are located in approximately 30 countries globally, producing upto 1 million tonnes of coating annually. The brand is registered in Felling, Gateshead, UK, at the business unit headquarters.[4]