Type Public Industry Coatings Number of employees 12,650 Parent organization The Carlyle Group | Traded as NYSE: AXTA Area served Worldwide Founded 1866 | |
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Key people Charles Shaver
(CEO and Chairman) Brands Abcite, Alesta, AquaEC, Cromax, Imron, Spies Hecker, Standox, Voltatex Stock price AXTA (NYSE) US$ 29.26 +0.04 (+0.14%)3 Mar, 11:27 AM GMT-5 - Disclaimer Headquarters Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States CEO Charles W. Shaver (1 Feb 2013–) Subsidiaries Axalta Powder Coating Systems Nordic AB Profiles | ||
Axalta Coating Systems is a coatings company headquartered in Philadelphia, PA that develops and manufactures coatings for light and commercial vehicles, industrial, and refinish applications. The firm does business in 130 countries, has nearly 13,000 employees, and has more than 100,000 customers.
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Axalta first developed its products in 1866 for carriages before moving to automotive painting. Previously known as DuPont Performance Coatings, the company was rebranded as Axalta Coating Systems upon being purchased by The Carlyle Group in 2013.
The company was the sponsor of four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports car, a relationship which dated back to Gordon's first Sprint Cup Series race in 1992. Axalta currently sponsors Gordon's former HMS teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 88 car.
Axalta coating systems over 145 years of industry experience
History
The firm's first products were developed in Germany in 1866 to protect carriages from the gravel of dirt roads. In 1920, the company created a quick-drying, multi-color lacquer line for automotive painting.
Axalta Coating Systems was formed as DuPont Performance Coatings in 1922, based in Wilmington, Delaware. In 2013, Axalta Coating Systems became an independent company with a new name and identity when it was acquired by the private equity firm The Carlyle Group from DuPont E.I. de Nemours where it was a division known as DuPont Performance Coatings. On November 12, 2014, the firm completed its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: AXTA).
On January 21, 2015, Axalta and Chinese industrial coatings firm Shanghai Kinlita Chemical formed a partnership to operate in China. In April 2015, Berkshire Hathaway invested $560 million in Axalta Coating Systems. In July 2016, the firm acquired United Paint and Chemical Corp.'s automotive interior coatings business.
The company currently operates in North America, South America, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The activities for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa region (EMEA) are based in Germany. The company is also building a new research and development center located at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard known as the Global Innovation Center.
In 1953 Axalta published the first annual Color Popularity Report, the first in the industry to have extensive global data in one report. The firm developed L,a,b color equations, an important component of modern color science. It introduced the first waterborne electrical steel coating in the industry in the 1960s.
Products
Among Axalta's first products are Spies Hecker and Standox. In the 1990s, Axalta introduced Cromax, a water-based product, along with the industrial paints Nap-Gard, a powder coating for oil and gas pipeline companies, and Voltatex for electrical insulation. Axalta also develops a variation of Cromax known as Cromax Mosaic. Other products made by Axalta include: Abcite, Alesta, AquaEC, Audurra, Centari, Challenger, Harmonized Coating Technologies, Imron, and Nason.
Motorsports
Axalta currently sponsors the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet SS of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro of NASCAR Xfinity Series driver William Byron. Previously, the company sponsored four-time series champion Jeff Gordon's No. 24 car, a relationship which dated back to Axalta's days as DuPont and Gordon's first Cup race in 1992. As of the 2016 Brickyard 400, Gordon has won three times in an Axalta-sponsored car, all of which were in 2014. During Gordon's career, he ran variations of his Axalta scheme to promote its brands such as Cromax and Standox. On February 12, 2015, Gordon was hired by Axalta as a global business advisor. In 2015, Axalta sponsored Regan Smith's JR Motorsports Camaro for the Axalta Faster. Tougher. Brighter. 200 at Phoenix International Raceway; the company has been a partner of the team since 2008.
Axalta provides paint for the entire Hendrick team, along with three other NASCAR teams: Camping World Truck Series' Kyle Busch Motorsports, JR Motorsports, and the Cup Series' Stewart-Haas Racing. IndyCar Series team Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing also receives paint from Axalta. In addition to sponsoring Gordon, Axalta sponsored the June Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway, known as the Axalta "We Paint Winners" 400, and the March Xfinity Series race at Phoenix International Raceway, called the Axalta Faster. Tougher. Brighter. 200.
Axalta also sponsors snocross team Judnick Motorsport/Polaris Racing, who field riders Ross Martin and James Johnstad in the AMSOIL Championship Snocross series. The sponsorship lasts through 2017.
In 2015, Axalta became the title sponsor of the C2 Team, which competes in Stock Car Brasil. The team currently fields cars for Júlio Campos and Gabriel Casagrande.
Through its Spies Hecker brand, Axalta provides paint for Formula One team Mercedes AMG F1. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff stated the lightness of the paint allows the team's Silver Arrows cars to drop in weight, assisting in performance.