Axalta officially opened its impressive new headquarters in Sydney Business Park today. Axalta CEO Robert Bryant flew over from the US and along with Australian managing director Steven Brett and Sobers Sethi, vice president of Asia Pacific and China, they cut the opening ribbon.
Axalta customers and partners attended the ceremony and had a tour of the new facility. There's an enormous warehouse and a large training area which are still being finished. The company will have another launch for the training facility later on in the year.
In his opening address Bryan said that the 5,300 square metre centre would offer customers a superior service and experience and showed the company's committment to the Australian and New Zealand market.
“This new facility is a significant milestone for Axalta and all of our customers in the region,” said Bryant “It demonstrates our confidence in the growing Australian and New Zealand markets and creates an important opportunity to be closer to our customers under one roof. Customers will benefit because of the greater access to new products, faster customer service, and the unique training opportunities offered at our new facility. In addition, the expanded presence in ANZ enhances the capacity we need to meet our long-term growth plans in the region, which is an integral part of our continued global growth.
Axalta’s state of the art customer training facility in Sydney will use the Company’s latest coating technologies, industry-leading training techniques and advanced digital tools to enable its customers to deliver the highest quality refinish solutions to the end-user, while increasing their productivity and profitability. Axalta Refinish customers will also gain in-depth knowledge of the latest spraying application systems that use less energy and reduce waste, have fast-drying finish, and use superior colour matching technologies. The new training facility is expected to be fully operational within the next four months.
“Axalta is the world leader in Refinish and consistently invests in enhancing our capabilities, facilities, and training to help customers grow their businesses,” said Brett. “We provide our customers with access to the latest products and innovations in the industry and offer the best training available. We are excited about our new training capabilities in the region, and that we can now offer the most efficient warehousing and distribution methods all from this terrific new facility.”
An aboriginal cleansing ceremony and dancing took place to bless the new premises. I was lucky enough to sit down and talk to the three directors about the future of Axalta, the new facility and emerging refinish trends. This interview will appear in the next edition of the magazine.