AkzoNobel steps up investment in China as economy transitions to high-quality, innovation-driven growth. * by admin * November 7, 2026 Dutch paints and coatings giant AkzoNobel has been stepping up investment and expanding its footprint in China - its largest single-country market by revenue - as the nation's economy transitions from volume-led expansion to high-quality, innovation-driven growth. "Emerging sectors like electric vehicles and artificial intelligence, as well as evolving dynamics across different segments of real estate and industrial transformation, provide massive opportunities for multinational corporations like AkzoNobel," Gregoire Poux-Guillaume, CEO of AkzoNobel, said in an exclusive interview with China Daily. According to Poux-Guillaume, China now accounts for 13 percent of AkzoNobel's global revenue, with particularly strong growth in business-to-business segments such as marine, protective and powder coatings. Meanwhile, China's steady advancement of high-level opening-up and supportive business environment have further facilitated the company's expansion across its 17 manufacturing plants in the country. Even as the Amsterdam-based company optimizes its global manufacturing footprint, it has continued to expand capacity in China, most notably in Tianjin and Suzhou, Jiangsu province. Production volume previously handled in the United Kingdom to serve the Middle East was transferred to China, where the local facility absorbed the surge while maintaining a 98.5 percent on-time-in-full delivery rate - surpassing AkzoNobel's global average. "We do not see China as a low-cost manufacturing base. We invest in China because of its quality, efficiency and ability to innovate," Poux-Guillaume said. "China is no longer trying to win by being a low-cost player; it is winning by being a high-quality and innovation-driven player. That is why we will continue investing here." Central to this localized innovation is AkzoNobel's Shanghai Technology Center in Songjiang district, the company's largest research and development base outside Europe. Integrating AI into R&D has enabled its scientists to accelerate initial resin-combination testing tenfold, shortening B2C product development cycles from over a year to less than six months. In the decorative paints sector, where renovation and repainting now exceed 53 percent of demand amid urban renewal, the center has developed targeted solutions such as waterborne rust-tolerant primers. Beyond serving domestic demand, AkzoNobel is leveraging its global network across more than 150 countries to help Chinese enterprises expand overseas. Rather than merely bringing foreign technology into China, the company increasingly develops advanced products in China for global export, while providing localized overseas supply chains for Chinese manufacturers setting up plants in markets such as Hungary, Mexico, Indonesia and Australia. Because coatings touch virtually every industrial surface - from building infrastructure, automobiles and COMAC's commercial aircraft to offshore wind turbines and marine vessels - the sector serves as a bellwether for the broader real economy. Looking ahead, Poux-Guillaume pointed to high-tech downstream sectors, particularly electric vehicles, green energy and AI data center infrastructure, as key indicators of China's economic vitality. "We see tremendous potential in the EV sector, where China's rapid development continues to set the global pace," he noted. That confidence is backed by robust industry data. According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, China's new energy vehicle production and sales reached 16.63 million and 16.49 million units, respectively, in 2025, surging nearly 30 percent year-on-year and accounting for 47.9 percent of total new vehicle sales. Total NEV sales in China are projected to climb further to 19 million units in 2026, alongside surging overseas shipments that saw NEV exports double to 2.62 million units in 2025. "China is a bellwether for our business in the world. What we can achieve in China, we can take and deploy elsewhere worldwide," Poux-Guillaume said. "China is accelerating its industrial upgrading, and its rapid innovation in areas like green energy and smart infrastructure is creating a new wave of opportunities for multinational companies like AkzoNobel." Looking further ahead, Poux-Guillaume emphasized that China will play a pivotal role following AkzoNobel's planned all-stock merger of equals with United States-based Axalta Coating Systems. Scheduled to close in early 2027, the combination will form a premier global coatings leader named Axanzo, with its combined Chinese operations serving as a cornerstone for global innovation and growth. [email protected] Tanks to chinadaily.com.cn Please visit: Its Sponsor

AkzoNobel centralizes data with Genie to enhance decision-making. With Genie Agents enabling natural language queries, AkzoNobel has transformed how its leaders access critical insights, moving from a chaotic dashboard environment to streamlined, instant responses that drive smarter decision-making. Key facts. * AkzoNobel reduced ERP systems from 50 to 4, streamlining operations and enhancing data accuracy. * Genie Agents improved decision-making speed, turning complex queries into instant insights for leaders. * Centralizing finance data on Databricks cut response times from months to seconds, boosting agility. * Early skepticism about Genie shifted as it revealed critical insights, enhancing user adoption and trust. * Trust in Genie was established through clear standards, ensuring reliability and reducing data discrepancies. Summary. AkzoNobel, a global paints and coatings company, faced significant challenges with data accessibility and dashboard overload due to its fragmented ERP systems. By centralizing its finance data and implementing Genie Agents on the Azure Databricks platform, AkzoNobel transformed its data analytics capabilities, resulting in faster, more reliable insights for decision-making. Background. AkzoNobel operates in over 150 countries and employs more than 30,000 people. The company, known for its coatings used in various high-profile projects, had a complex IT landscape built through numerous mergers and acquisitions. Prior to deploying Genie, AkzoNobel managed over 50 ERP systems, each with separate analytics, leading to inconsistent processes and KPI definitions. This fragmentation resulted in slow data retrieval, often taking months to answer enterprise-wide questions. Startan LLC Challenge. The primary challenge was the inability to quickly access reliable data for decision-making. The existing dashboard overload failed to provide timely insights, leaving leaders to make guesses or rely on outdated information. Solution. AkzoNobel centralized its IT infrastructure, reducing its ERP systems from over 50 to just four. The company consolidated its finance data into a single instance with a harmonized general ledger and migrated to a lakehouse architecture on the Azure Databricks Data + AI Platform. This foundation allowed the team to integrate SAP-based finance data and develop models for key financial metrics. Genie Agents were introduced to enable natural language queries, allowing users to ask questions and receive answers quickly. To drive adoption, the team collaborated with business analysts to identify critical finance questions and demonstrated Genie's capabilities. This approach successfully engaged key stakeholders, including the CIO, who became a daily user of Genie. FindSuppliers Results. The implementation of Genie Agents significantly improved data accessibility and decision-making speed. The CIO, initially skeptical, now uses Genie daily, even during his commute. The solution has enabled teams to ask both strategic and minor questions, enhancing overall data-driven insights across the organization. Key insights. * Centralizing data systems can streamline analytics and improve decision-making speed. * Engaging stakeholders early in the deployment process helps drive adoption and trust in new tools. * Establishing clear standards and ownership for data queries enhances reliability and user confidence. Customer testimonial. No direct quote is available from the source material. Discover more Learn AI Tools Learn Engineering Study Biology Entities mentioned. Companies Startan LLC Technologies Azure Databricks Data + AI Platform sales director Key concepts. dashboard limitations centralized finance data Genie Agents natural language queries data lakehouse trust and reliability business analytics proactive experiences Definitions. * Genie Agents - Genie Agents are tools that allow users to ask questions in natural language and receive instant answers, enhancing data accessibility. * lakehouse - A lakehouse is a unified data platform that combines the benefits of data lakes and data warehouses, enabling efficient data management and analytics. * SLA - Service Level Agreement (SLA) is a commitment between a service provider and a client that outlines the expected level of service. * ERP systems - Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are integrated management systems that help organizations manage business processes across various departments. * EBITDA - Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) is a financial metric used to evaluate a company's operating performance. Use cases. * | Natural language queries for finance data * | Identifying churning customers * | Answering strategic business questions * | Providing instant insights for executives * | Correcting discrepancies in financial data * | Enhancing data accessibility for analysts Frequently asked questions. What is Genie and how does it work? Genie is a tool that allows users to ask questions in natural language and receive immediate answers. It leverages centralized finance data and advanced analytics to provide insights quickly. How did AkzoNobel improve its data management? AkzoNobel centralized its IT infrastructure, reducing over 50 ERP systems to four, and consolidated finance data into a single instance on the Azure Databricks platform. What challenges did AkzoNobel face with dashboards? The company had more dashboards than employees, leading to confusion and delays in obtaining answers to business questions. This prompted the need for a more efficient solution. How does AkzoNobel ensure the reliability of Genie? AkzoNobel sets clear standards for each Genie Agent, including ownership, SLAs, and certifications. This helps build trust in the tool among users. What future developments are planned for Genie? The team is exploring proactive, contextual, and agentic experiences to further enhance the capabilities of Genie and improve user engagement.

AkzoNobel launches digital colour system MIXIT. AkzoNobel Aerospace Coatings (AkzoNobel) has introduced its MIXIT digital colour-retrieval system to the aerospace sector, offering MRO providers, airline paint facilities and distributors a faster way to identify, retrieve and prepare approved coating colours on site. The cloud-based system is designed to accelerate aircraft repairs and reduce turnaround times when aircraft availability is critical. Launched at MRO Europe in Amsterdam, MIXIT allows users to retrieve colour formulae from a digital database through desktop computers, tablets or mobile devices. Where the required formula is unknown, a connected spectrophotometer can scan an aircraft surface or paint sample and identify the closest available colour match. Once the correct formulae has been identified, paint technicians can use a colour mixing wall and precision scales to prepare the coating on site. The process includes selecting the appropriate tints and associated components, such as hardeners and thinners, to ensure the coating is prepared according to the specified requirements. AkzoNobel said the system is intended to simplify the process from colour identification to paint preparation, particularly in repair situations where aircraft-on-ground (AOG) time and response speed are important considerations. By bringing colour retrieval and preparation closer to the point of application, the company aims to help MRO providers and airline paint facilities improve operational efficiency. Visitors to AkzoNobel's display at MRO Europe were able to see the system demonstrated using a spectrophotometer to scan sample panels, with the results displayed on a touchscreen. The demonstration showed how quickly a colour could be identified through MIXIT and the corresponding coating prepared for application. The aerospace launch builds on AkzoNobel's existing MIXIT platform, which has been used in the automotive refinishing sector for the past decade. The rollout will take place in phases. The initial database will provide access to more than 2,700 formulas covering the most frequently requested tints for AkzoNobel's Topcoat FR2-55, used for aircraft cabin interiors. Formulas for exterior coatings are scheduled to be added in 2027. AkzoNobel is also considering further digital functions for the same year, including stock management, e-commerce, reporting and the option for customers to store their own generated colour formulae. [avi_get_posts] 2026 media kit. VP Sales & Business Development Americas Tamar Jorssen [email protected] Phone: +1 (778) 213 8543 VP International Sales & Marketing Malte Tamm [email protected] Phone: +49 (0)162 8263049 Free daily, weekly and monthly MRO publications delivered straight to your inbox! Select publications: *AviTrader Publications Corp. respect your privacy and AviTrader will not share your email address with any third parties.