AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands - AkzoNobel is one step closer to its goal of accelerating growth and increasing revenue in India to EUR 1 billion within the next five years with the official opening of a new industrial coatings plant near Bangalore, Karnataka, India.

The facility, which will produce coil and specialty plastic coatings, is located in Hoskote on an existing AkzoNobel site, which already manufactures marine and protective coatings, automotive coatings and powder coatings.

Conrad Keijzer, Managing Director of AkzoNobel Industrial Coatings, said, “Increasing our capacity in India is important because local demand is growing. This is being driven by a number of factors, particularly the rapid increase in average household incomes and the associated growth of the housing, construction, consumer electronics and automotive sectors.”

The technologies most in demand include laser-etch coatings for the automotive industry, soft-touch technology for smart phones, and coil coatings for high-performance steel and aluminum construction markets.

The new Bangalore facility will be capable of manufacturing up to 18 million liters per year, with scope for further expansion. The additional capacity will also boost the company’s ability to meet the growing demand in India and neighboring countries.