Akzo Nobel, which supplies resins, paints and other coatings to the marine industry, likely will abandon its Russian operations within weeks, according to a Financial Times report. The coatings maker is also the largest paint supplier in Europe.
The news comes only a few weeks after the company announced it was expanding its resin production facilities to guard against supply-chain disruptions.
Akzo Nobel CEO Thierry Vanlancker on Monday told the Financial Times that “A combination of interruption to key supply chains and the financial strains facing its Russian customers made the failure of the business inevitable.”
“We’re pretty realistic that over a one-month, two-month period this will come to a gradual, if not normal, phasing out of the business [in Russia],” Vanlancker told the Financial Times.
It is unclear whether the collapse of Akzo Nobel’s Russian facilities will have any impact on the U.S. marine industry, which relies on such brands as Interlux, Awlgrip, Sikkens Wood Coatings and others.
Soundings Trade Only reached out to Akzo Nobel’s media relations staff to find out if the company expects the closures to impact the availability of its marine products in the U.S. They did not respond to our requests.
