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Hempel has opened its first manufacturing facility for marine and protective coatings in South America, bringing production thousands of miles closer to that burgeoning market.
The $17 million factory—Hempel’s 24th—will slash production lead times and allow the company to develop and tailor products that meet regional and local standards and needs, Hempel said.
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Hempel |
| The new facility will allow development of protective and marine coatings tailored to the South American market, Hempel says. |
Currently, Hempel supplies the South American market from Singapore.
The new plant is part of a major expansion for Hempel, which is also planning to open new facilities in Russia and Saudi Arabia by the end of 2013.
Plant Features
The 3,000-square-meter (32,291 square feet) plant, which opened Feb. 16, has a production volume of 155 liters (about 41 U.S. gallons) per man-hour at full capacity.
Over the next six months, production will gradually increase to supply the entire region with Hempel’s complete portfolio of marine and protective products.
Hempel says the plant features the latest paint production technology, including conical dissolvers that enable flexible production runs down to 20 to 30 percent of maximum capacity. To control the speed at which the powder is fed into the machine, a sonic system monitors the frequency generated from the dissolving process and adjusts the powder feed accordingly.
To reduce emissions from the cleaning process, all tanks are linked to a closed-circuit cleaning system that is sealed during the cleaning process.
“The Buenos Aires plant will cut down lead times and streamline our supply chain,” says Lars Johansen, Group Vice President. “We’ll be better placed to serve existing and new customers in the region, as well as develop and customize products faster.”
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