Covered Winter 2023

COVERED Winter 2023

Raising our profile in Westmin ster

Celebrating co succe ss storaietings s

BCF win s Be st Association of Trade the Year

First Net Zero Rdoad launche

ma p

coatings.org.uk

Associate

02 Covered Winter 2023

CONTENTS

Whilst every care has been taken in compiling this publication, and the statements contained herein are believed to be correct, the publishers and the promoters will not accept responsibility for any inaccuracies.

Reproduction of any part of this publication without permission is strictly forbidden.

BCF make no recommendation in respect of any of the advertisers, and no recommendation may be implied by way of the presence of their advertisements.

A reminder that members can elect to receive this publication in digital format, and/or in print. If you’d like to change the way it’s sent to you, please get in touch with Belle Lake (belle.lake@bcf.co.uk). Also, a reminder that the publication is uploaded to our website here for download (login required).

British Coatings Federation Ltd Spectra House, Westwood Way Westwood Business Park Coventry, CV4 8HS Email: info@bcf.co.uk Website: coatings.org.uk Telephone: 02476 935 390 Registered in England 745398 This publication has been produced with due consideration to the environment, and has been printed by a carbon balanced printer.

Paper used for this publication has been recycled - please recycle again after reading.

Editorial

03

BCF launches Essential Coatings report at the House of Commons

04

BCF publishes Net Zero Roadmap

06

BCF ‘cautiously optimistic’ about new Government outline for Chemical Regulations in the UK

09

BCF 2023 Award winners

10

Molly Kershaw - BCF Young Leader of the Year 2023 interview

24

Road to Net Zero Seminar

26

BCF crowned Best Trade Association of the Year at the 2023 Memcom Excellence Awards

28

Paint Brand Owners Forum

29

BCF at Surcon 2023

30

Obituary

32

New members

33

Upcoming events and meetings

35

Covered Winter 2023 01

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EDI TOR IAL I’m writing this as we head towards the end of 2023. How was the year for you? We are ending on a high with some really positive developments in the final quarter of the year.

In November we heard the important news that the UK Government has U-turned on UK REACH, having finally listened to what industry has been saying since 2021, that the current approach would be a major burden on UK manufacturing and particularly for downstream formulating sectors like ours.

The estimated cost of creating a duplicate database to EU REACH was over £2 billion for industry and I had some real concerns about the future of UK production sites for our sector. So it’s fantastic news that the Government is looking at a much different approach now, which we hope will be less burdensome but still preserves high environmental standards.

We’ll get more news on this in this Spring consultation. See page 9 for more.

By Tom Bowtell Chief Executive Officer of the BCF

We have also made good progress with two very significant initiatives in Q4 – in November we launched the industry’s first Net Zero Roadmap, which we feature over five pages in this edition. The launch event was an all day conference on scope 3 – something we’ll be looking to repeat annually. Our new Sustainability Manager, Patricia Durany-Fernandez deserves a mention for creating such a comprehensive roadmap and quick start guide. Supporting members with Net Zero will be a key part of our future work.

Our other major initiative is our new Essential Coatings report, which was launched at a Parliamentary reception in early December at the House of Commons attended by MPs, civil servants, external stakeholders and senior representatives from a good number of BCF members.

To be effective with our lobbying work, we need to raise our profile in Westminster, which will be a key target for David Park, who has done a sterling job with the

new report, and the relationship with communications agency Hanover, which is also bringing us some good national press coverage.

This is something of an awards special edition. We profile all the BCF 2023 Award winners from our event at the stunning Grand Hotel in Birmingham back in October. You can also read an interview with our Young Leader of the Year, Molly Kershaw from PPG Architectural Coatings on page 24. BCF were also honoured to reclaim the title of UK Trade Association of the Year, following back to back successes in 2017 and 2018.

Wishing all of you the very best for Christmas, and a successful 2024 in your businesses.

Covered Winter 2023 03

BCF launches Essential Coatings report at the House of Commons to highlight critical contribution sector makes to society, the economy and sustainability On Monday 4th December, BCF launched its Essential Coatings report at a reception in the House of Commons. The event, sponsored by Paul Scully MP, was attended by 100 guests made up of BCF members, key supply chain stakeholders, and MPs. It also included a pre-recorded message for the coatings sector from the Minister for Industry, Nusrat Ghani MP, who responded to the document’s content.

The new report celebrates the impact across all walks of life of the UK’s worldleading coatings sector. It makes the point that coatings are everywhere, in and on almost everything, making products better, safer, and more effective. In short, we want it to bring home to as many people as possible – but especially politicians, policy- and decision-makers – how coatings are essential to everyday life. And so, through a range of case studies themed around essentiality, liveability, sustainability, and economy, the report explains just how many industries rely on BCF members’ products. Construction; automotive and transport; healthcare and hospitals; industrial and manufacturing; design and branding; entertainment and leisure; food and drink; aerospace and defence; printing and packaging; home appliances and technology; fencing, flooring and furniture - the list goes on and on.

There is a particular focus on the contribution the coatings sector makes to sustainability, both by ensuring green energy infrastructure like wind turbines and solar panels are durable and function properly, and through their own direct contributions to, for instance, vehicle fuel efficiency, not least the massive savings anti-fouling coatings bring to the world’s shipping fleet.

Beyond the purely functional, the report also explores how coatings facilitate effective communication and creativity, helping us – as individuals and groups – to better understand each other, develop ideas, or set ourselves apart, as well as create beautiful spaces to live and work in.

Finally, the report highlights the huge financial and economic contribution our sector makes to the UK economy. More than 150 coatings companies in the UK who, between them, employ 14,000 people, contributing £4 billion annually to UK economy. Downstream companies worth £300 billion a year rely on coatings products, employing an additional 300,000 workers applying or working with coatings, and our sector is a net exporter.

The Essential Coatings report also details five asks of the Government to ensure the coatings sector is able to thrive and maximise its contribution to the UK economy. These include the need for regulatory and policy clarity and certainty for chemicals, a long-term 04 Covered Winter 2023

Essential Coatings’ case studies are divided into four key themes that demonstrate the value of the UK coatings sector: Essentiality – coatings are everywhere, in and on everything and critical to the functioning of daily life.

Liveability – coatings protect, enrich and enhance the beauty of the world around us, and enable communication and selfexpression.

Sustainability – coatings play an essential role in the transition to a sustainable future: prolonging the life of goods, vehicles and infrastructure; protecting and enabling renewable energy sources such as wind turbines and solar panels; and helping improve fuel efficiency.

Economy – the sector is one of the country’s manufacturing success stories: a net exporter, a generator of jobs and an integral contributor to the UK economy.

industrial strategy for manufacturing, support for businesses in the transition to net zero, and greater focus on improving post-Brexit trade, all of which will help build a more stable foundation to deliver continued growth and success for the industry.

Tom Bowtell, Chief Executive of the BCF, said: “We are incredibly proud as an industry to be supporting the UK across such a breadth of

important sectors, improving the lives of people across the country. From the development of solar panels to enabling hygiene in hospitals, within the industry we know the vital work that we do.

“Our new ‘Essential Coatings’ report is all about sharing this crucial impact with a

wider audience, explaining just how important our sector is to the UK economy and wider society. It also makes a number of asks of Government which, we believe, if delivered, will enable the coatings sector – and the wider UK manufacturing industry – to thrive, grow, and create even more jobs and GDP in future.”

The report is just the first step in a much longer communications campaign designed to spread the word about the importance of coatings. Next year we will be organising communications on social media as well as more events, especially after the next General Election to engage with new MPs. We want to make this campaign as far-reaching and include as many members as possible. So, look out for our Essential Coatings communications over the coming weeks and do get your company to play its part in promoting the importance of the coatings sector to the UK.

Covered Winter 2023 05

BCF PUBLISHES ROADMAP TO NET ZERO

The roadmap lays out how the BCF and its members aim to reach Net Zero, with projected reductions in scope 1 and 2 emissions of 53 per cent by 2035 and 69 per cent by 2040 as waypoints to measure progress against. It goes on to detail four things that need to happen if the overall target is to be met:

The • Increased energy efficiency, BCF including greater use of renewable energy and the development of lowproudly carbon hydrogen. launched • Improved resource efficiency, such our Net Zero as the development of new products Roadmap for the and technologies including greater uptake of biobased raw materials. coatings sector as a • The development of carbon capture, whole on Tuesday 14th of utilisation and storage networks.

November. The launch took • Intensive supply chain place as part of a well-attended collaboration and engagement, seeking Net-Zero themed seminar to reduce scope 3 in Nottingham, which was emissions.

The attended by over 100 delegates roadmap from across BCF’s member provides companies and their wider a baseline supply chains. This is the first estimate of the time a sector-wide roadmap total carbon emissions has been compiled for the for the coatings sector. coatings industry as a whole. The This has been put together roadmap’s publication is a step using data submissions from towards delivering on the BCF across the BCF membership, Board’s pledge of two years ago extrapolated to take account that the sector will meet Net Zero of total market size. The BCF’s by 2050. baseline for scope 1 and 2 emissions is approximately 100,000 tonnes of CO2(e).

To view the digital versions of the Net Zero Roadmap and Quick Start For scope 3 emissions BCF’s Guide, please visit: initial estimate is that this number would be in excess of 2.5 million tonnes of CO2(e) - representing a huge 98 per cent of the industry’s carbon footprint. As this is the first time this has been attempted for the whole coatings sector, it is expected that the data will be added to and refined in future years. However, the estimated figures arrived at in this initial document provide a good, solid, workable basis for the industry to take future action and for progress to be

06 Covered Winter 2023

The Roadmap is accompanied by a ‘Quick Start Guide’, which provides practical guidance, calculations tools and other resources for BCF members – especially SMEs - to help them progress against their Net Zero requirements.

BCF’s Net Zero roadmap being officially launched at their Road to Net Zero Seminar in Nottingham. Left to right: Patricia Durany-Fernandez, BCF Sustainability Manager; Sharon Harte, BCF President and Managing Director of Darcylate Paints; Tom Bowtell, CEO of BCF.

measured against.

The document goes on to outline how the coatings sector collectively intends to tackle its own emissions (scope 1) and those it creates indirectly (scope 2 and scope 3). Of importance is the initial estimate that by far the largest proportion of carbon emissions – at around 98 per cent - are linked to members’ supply chains (scope 3). While these scope 3 emissions may be more difficult for members to manage directly, the roadmap makes clear that these have to be tackled, working alongside customers and suppliers. Indeed, as a sign of how important dealing with upstream and downstream emissions is, BCF

launched the Net Zero Roadmap at a seminar specifically dedicated to identifying, recording, reporting, and tackling scope 3 emissions, at which key industry suppliers also attended.

Moreover, and importantly, the roadmap also makes clear that, while any emissions that cannot be eliminated must be balanced by finding ways to absorb an equivalent amount, the sector’s Net Zero strategy must minimise the use of carbon offsets, reserving the practice for unavoidable emissions only.

Covered Winter 2023 07

Of course, many of BCF members already have detailed Net Zero Roadmaps and carbon reduction strategies of their own, and are well along the path to decarbonising their sites and supply chains. Others – very often SMEs – have not made as much progress. And so the BCF sector Roadmap also provides access to links, case studies and other resources to help them put together their own plans and strategies as easily as possible.

Beyond the responsibilities and actions required of BCF members, there is also action required from Government if the sector – and the country as a whole – is to ever truly meet its obligations. To this end, a list of seven recommendations are included at the end of the report. Among them are the need for a secure environment for businesses to invest in sustainable infrastructure, clarity and certainty of energy policy in the longer term, and support for SMEs in their journey to reach Net Zero.

Sharon Harte, President of the British Coatings Federation, said: “The UK paints, coatings, printing inks and wallcoverings sector has always adapted to changing conditions. Now the next great challenge is to tackle climate change and reach Net Zero as soon as possible, and by mid-century at the latest. This roadmap is a demonstration of our commitment to that cause and will act as a guide to support our members on their individual Net Zero journeys.”

“As part of our journey, it is important to also recognise the key role our sector has in in the transition to a more sustainable future: providing products that prolong the life of goods, vehicles and infrastructure; and protecting and enabling renewable energy sources such as wind turbines and solar panels. Our industry will therefore play a major role in enabling the UK to achieve its over-arching Net Zero target.”

Tom Bowtell CEO of BCF: “This is an important document for us as it is the first time the sector has collectively worked together to quantify the scale of the challenge. However, it is just the start of a long journey, and a lot more work will be required across the sector to make Net Zero a reality.

Many of our members are already well on the way to reaching their Net Zero target, while others might be grappling with the complexities of getting started. It is our role as the sector’s trade body to show leadership, support members through this process and help those who need more assistance make the necessary progress. That is why we are launching the roadmap at a one-day seminar designed to provide some of that very support, together with a shorter, easier to navigate ‘quick start guide’ for SMEs.” “Businesses across all industries have a central role to play in delivering emissions reductions and I am pleased that the coatings sector is leading the way in engaging with this challenge. There is no easy fix but in the long term our hard work will be well worth it to secure a greener, cleaner future for our planet.”

08 Covered Winter 2023

BCF ‘cautiously optimistic’ about new Government outline for Chemical Regulations in the UK Ever since Brexit, BCF and other trade associations and businesses working in the chemicals sector have been pushing for a clear direction as to the UK’s future chemicals policy, especially regarding UK REACH. Defra’s original plans were put on hold a couple of years ago after the Department admitted that the costs to industry were likely to be too high, resulting in initial registration deadlines being pushed back to 2030. Defra has used that additional time to engage with industry, NGOs, and other Government Departments to consider a new Alternative Transitional Registration model (ATRm). BCF was part of that lengthy consultation process and we have given a very similar update on progress in each and every issue of Covered since – namely that we were waiting for news as to the outcome of those talks!

Finally, we have what seems to be some good news and a clear direction of travel. A new, broad ‘policy direction’ for UK REACH was published by Defra in early November, and we are cautiously optimistic about what is being suggested. The new proposals seem to respond to some of the concerns we and others have previously expressed, including, in particular, that full data dossiers for all 20,000 chemical substances currently in the EU REACH database did not need to be recreated in a stand-alone UK REACH database.

Instead, the Defra policy statement suggests only ‘the essential minimum’ hazard data will be required for ‘transitional registration’ substances, except in cases where UK regulators’ concern, or global evidence suggests, detailed reviews or more data is needed.

This more targeted approach on ‘hazard’ data for transitional registration substances will be accompanied by a greater focus on collecting ‘use and exposure’ at work data, building knowledge of how chemicals are used across the UK and therefore the risks that might need to be managed. While the latter will still require substantial input from industry, overall, the new proposal seems to offer the potential for a much more workable and proportionate system, without

lessening existing protections to the environment or human health and safety.

We need to see more detail than what was contained in the written statement to be able to form a proper opinion of workability and cost, though. We believe there will be two formal consultations in the New Year: firstly on the level of UK REACH fees due in January; and more substantially, the detailed proposals for the ATRm which will come out in February. We will need to work closely with members on consultation responses to make sure the views and needs of the whole of the BCF’s membership base are taken into consideration, as we really do need to get this right this time around to give industry the certainty it needs for future investment decisions. A crucial part of the consultation will be around the new ‘use and exposure’ data, in particular how it will be gathered and who is responsible for obtaining and reporting it.

Tom Bowtell, CEO of BCF, said: “While the devil will be in the detail, the British Coatings Federation gives an initial cautious welcome to Defra’s new proposals for UK REACH. “From what we can see so far, the new approach seems more proportionate and workable than the original and will mean the UK still remains at the forefront of environmental and human safety when it comes to chemicals regulation. It will also

allow UK regulators to focus their time and resources on those substances and uses where there may be most legitimate concerns.

Indeed, this approach could mean regulators are able to better police concerns than under the current system. Taken together, these steps seem a sensible way to deal with the issue after Brexit.

“We look forward to continuing to engage with Defra through the forthcoming formal consultation process to turn this broad direction of travel into a detailed, workable and proportionate regulation. As a trade association that represents downstream users of chemicals in a vital part of the UK economy, the BCF is well placed to assist in this process. We want to help ensure the new system is robust yet practical for businesses to comply with easily and effectively, to help secure the future of UK manufactured formulated products.”

The winners of the 2023 British Coatings Federation (BCF) Awards were announced on 19th October at The Grand Hotel in Birmingham. Over 200 delegates attended the biggest-ever event in the 13 years of running the awards.

The highlight of the evening was celebrating the amazing young talent coming through in the sector, recognised in the Apprentice of the Year Award, won by Sean Kelly

from Anstey Wallpaper Company; Young Leader of the Year Award, won by Molly Kershaw from PPG Architectural Coatings and Student of the Year Award, which saw Courtney Turner from Tor Coatings win.

The BCF would like to thank our Award sponsors, Stort Group, BASF, The Paint Foundation, Verlingue, In her first event as BCF Synthomer, Xyntra, Fenton President, Sharon Harte, Packaging, Tronox, Crusader Managing Director Vehicle Leasing and GDB of Dacrylate Paints, commented: “It is so exciting Paint & Coatings for their to see so much young talent support. in our sector, demonstrated in our Student, Apprentice

All the BCF Award winners and highly commended recipients together on stage.

10 Covered Winter 2023

and Young Leader of the Year categories. Many congratulations to all those who were shortlisted, but especially to the winners”.

BCF President and Managing Director of Dacrylate Paints, Sharon Harte.

Sustainable Innovation: Multinational Award This Award recognises and celebrates commitment to the BCF Sustainability Policy through the launch of innovative sustainable products, processes or services.

UniNature

Sponsored by:

Siegwerk showed an all-round understanding of a holistic approach to sustainability and consideration of the life cycle of the product. Consequently, the judges were unanimous in awarding this year’s winner.

Covered Winter 2023

11

Sustainable Innovation: SME Award This Award recognises and celebrates commitment to the BCF Sustainability Policy through the launch of innovative sustainable products, processes or services and is open to BCF Associate members.

Ambimization®

12 Covered Winter 2023

Sponsored by:

Terrafend demonstrated an innovative, organic solvent-free approach to cleaning and degreasing industrial components, which is essential for the paint industry and beyond.

Race to Net Zero Award Our new Race to Net Zero Award recognises applicants’ own contributions to achieving the coating industry’s overall pledge to reaching Net Zero by 2050, which was judged principally by the reduction demonstrated, or the projected reduction, of emissions (scope 1, 2 and 3) which are defined by the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol using data that is no older than 2018, due to the implementation of company policies, new standards, best practice and sustainable initiatives.

Reducing energy use and emissions in manufactoring operations

Crown Paints demonstrated clear measurable plans and progress in reaching Net Zero along with the financial investment needed to achieve them.

Covered Winter 2023 13

Corporate Social Responsibility Award The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Award is given to a BCF member company which has clearly demonstrated an outstanding and successful charity or CSR campaign across any aspect of social responsibility.

Winner:

Community Engagement Programme

PPG Architectural Coatings won because this community programme continues to be an ongoing consistent initiative where the benefits are measured and well-reported.

The judges noted the significant investment in outreach education and inspiring younger generations towards science-based learning.

They have made a broad investment in community initiatives and continue with their charity programme maintaining support of Mind Charity.

Highly commended:

Project Possible

14 Covered Winter 2023

Coatings Care Progress Award

Participants of the Coatings Care programme demonstrate a commitment to creating a safer, more sustainable and efficient industry. Two awards are presented to recognise those in the programme.

The Coatings Care Progress Award is presented to the company that has made the most significant year on year improvement in its performance on the same health, safety and environmental criteria as our Coatings Care Overall Best Performer Award.

The Beckers site in Liverpool reduced total waste to well below the average in the sector and continued progress towards zero landfill targets with more waste recycled than ever.

Solvent use and VOC emissions also came down in the last 12 months.

Sponsored by:

Covered Winter 2023 15

Coatings Care Overall Best Performer Award Participants of the Coatings Care programme demonstrate a commitment to creating a safer, more sustainable and efficient industry. Two awards are presented to recognise those in the programme.

The Coatings Care Overall Best Performer Award is presented to the company that has demonstrated best in class performance across a range of key performance indicators, including VOC emissions, energy consumption, waste and recycling, and accident and incident statistics.

In 2022, the Tor Coatings site increased recycling rates, meaning almost all was recycled and leading to zero landfill waste for the first time. VOC emissions and solvent use per unit of production were lower than the average for their sector. There is a clear commitment to developing and training staff in the company.

Sponsored by:

16 Covered Winter 2023

Diversity and inclusion Award The Diversity and Inclusion Award is awarded to a BCF member company that best demonstrates an effective programme across a broad range of diversity and inclusion elements.

Sponsored by:

The judges commented that SherwinWilliams had a very strong nomination, with the supporting evidence very well-articulated and well-presented. Particularly impressive was the summary of the actions, including the overview of the organisational objectives.

Covered Winter 2023 17

Marketing Campaign of the Year Award Sponsored by:

This Award is given to a BCF member company that has produced and delivered an innovative and effective marketing campaign that clearly meets organisational goals. The judges are looking for a measurable campaign that has demonstratable impact on the target audience.

AI Generated Colour Range

18 Covered Winter 2023

HMG Paints leveraged emerging technology in a novel way to create a new paint collection and associated marketing campaign. It showcases cutting-edge applications in a traditional industry.

The campaign resulted in a significant increase in brand awareness and an increase in website traffic. Its unique selling proposition could potentially revolutionise how paint collections are created and marketed in the future.

Customer Service Award

Sponsored by:

BCF’s Customer Service Award recognises the growing importance of customer service as a differentiator in the paints, coatings, inks and wallcovering industries.

Winner:

Dulux Decorator Centre Customer Segmentation

AkzoNobel’s Dulux Decorator Centres approached the challenge of designing and delivering a good customer experience in a way that sits some distance apart from others.

They have created meaningful groups or segments of customers, mapped these different customer groups’ journeys across their organisation, engaged with teams to ensure widespread awareness and then measured their performance against the moments that matter.

Highly commended:

Covered Winter 2023 19

Excellence in Training Award The BCF Excellence in Training Award is presented for a company initiative rather than individual (which is recognised through the Student of the Year Award). Now in its sixth year, entries for both BCF training and non BCF initiatives will be considered.

Winner:

Training Programme

HMG Paints built on an established training ethos to create a new team to identify knowledge and skills gaps and then develop a comprehensive and innovative training portfolio for the business. This has included producing their own training videos in-house so they are bespoke, and hence relevant, for the company. This training has led to significant business benefits and increased staff morale.

Highly commended:

20 Covered Winter 2023

Student of the Year Award This award, for our Coatings Training Institute (CTI) students, is decided by our industry-respected tutors.

It represents the students that have achieved the best grades in our CTI modules. For more information on the CTI courses that we have available, please see our website: www.thecoatingsinstitute.com.

Sponsored by:

Courtney Turner Courtney has shown her drive, perseverance and dedication to improving her assignments, challenging and asking questions of her tutor. She has successfully completed three modules during the space of a year to a very good standard.

Covered Winter 2023 21

Apprentice of the Year Award Apprentice of the Year is awarded to an apprentice currently employed at a BCF member company who best demonstrates how they’ve used their apprenticeship to achieve great personal and professional development.

Sponsored by:

Winner:

Sean Kelly Sean was able to demonstrate real links to how his apprenticeship is supporting his career progression. Having worked in production on the shop floor and then stepping up into a leadership role, he was able to give some great examples of how relevant skills have been developed in order to make him better at his job and have a real impact in his business.

Highly commended:

Brandon Morgan

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Young Leader of the Year Award Now in its sixth year, the BCF’s Young Leader of the Year Award recognises an exceptional individual under the age of 35 working within a BCF member company who has proved to be an effective, innovative and impactful leader.

Sponsored by:

Molly Kershaw The judges commented that Molly Kershaw, PPG Customer Collaboration Manager, was enthusiastic, engaging, and demonstrated strong leadership skills. She spoke passionately about the importance of equality, diversity, and inclusion both from a moral and a business perspective.

She was a strong advocate of the sector as a positive force for change and she is keen to play her part in ensuring that it can attract and retain talent, including through their leadership of the student placement programme.

Covered Winter 2023 23

MOLLY KERSHAW Find out more about our 2023 Young Leader of the Year Award winner Tell us about the role you have at PPG: My title at PPG is Customer Collaboration Manager and I sit within the Supply Chain function. Within my role I get to work with a variety of departments focusing on business process improvement projects which result in mutual value for both PPG and our customers. It’s interesting working with a variety of stakeholders and working as a team to implement solutions. I am also very lucky to be able to run the Birstall Placement Scheme which involves supporting our placement students with their journey at PPG as well as working with them to recruit the next cohort of students.

Explain your background and how your career has progressed so far: I’m from South Manchester and in 2018 moved to Sheffield to attend Sheffield Hallam University to study International Business Management. During my course I did a sandwich placement year which is how I started working at PPG. I joined PPG as a Supply Chain Analyst in 2020 on placement for a year, I was very lucky to be asked to stay on at PPG and worked part time during my final year before returning full time in July 2022. At the end of August 2022, I was promoted to Customer Collaboration Manager which meant I took on more responsibility working with both our Supply Chain team and our commercial team, while taking on a team of my own for the first time.

24 Covered Winter 2023 24 Covered Winter 2023

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve overcome to date?

The biggest challenge I’ve overcome was when I adopted the running of the placement scheme. Due to covid in the few years before I took over, we had not properly recruited for several years. As such we did not have any recent data or experience on how best to recruit students to PPG. The scheme is extremely important for PPG and recognising that, I wanted to do the scheme justice and recruit the best talent we could get. As such I felt a lot of pressure to get this right however, the team and I worked really hard and, in the end, we recruited a fantastic group of students.

manage and more importantly develop a team. The first year was a challenge but I learnt so much from it and really developed myself as a leader.

How did it feel to be nominated by your colleagues and to then win the BCF Young Leader of the Year Award in October?

I was extremely honoured to be nominated by my team, to be recognised for the areas I get to work on outside of my day-today

How would you describe your leadership style?

I would say that my leadership style is that of a coach. As my team are all very new into their careers, I like to focus on helping them develop their skills and support them in reaching their potential. To do this I work a lot with my team to understand their strengths and how I can support them with those as well as what areas they need to work on.

What is your biggest career achievement to date?

I would say my biggest achievement to date was being promoted to the customer collaboration manager role just 2 months after returning from university. I felt it was a great achievement to go from university to then be trusted to

business process improvement projects across the wider European side of PPG, while continuing to support on people related topics and being a force for positive change at PPG and in the industry.

Finally, what advice would you give to other aspiring young leaders in the sector?

My advice would be to take every opportunity you are given even if it is something you are not confident with. Taking these opportunities will help you learn and grow so much quicker than if you were to just stick at what you are doing. Within that, work to find these opportunities, build your network so that you can grow and can experience as much as possible.

Award sponsors Fenton Packaging Solutions commented on the win:

role that I am passionate about has encouraged me to continue to work on driving change for PPG. To then win the award when I was in a category with so many amazing nominees was a surprise and a privilege.

What are your aspirations for your future career in the industry?

“Congratulations to Molly Kershaw, from PPG Architectural Coatings, for winning the British Coatings Federation Young Leader of the Year Award 2023,” said Fenton Packaging Solutions Managing Partner of Sales Development Chris Warren.

“Fenton Packaging Solutions is proud to be an active associate member of the British Coatings Federation and to once again sponsor this important category, which seeks to celebrate the impressive young talent in the sector, who guarantee its future success.”

I see myself continuing within Supply Chain working on Covered Winter 2023 25 Covered Winter 202325

Road to Net Zero Seminar

14th November 2023 The Hilton Nottingham-Gateway

Noel Ferguson, Head of Net Zero and Energy Solutions, Trident Utilities

Katie Chong, Senior Lecturer, Supergen Bioenergy Hub/Aston University

BCF was delighted to hold a Net Zero seminar in Nottingham on 14th November. The event was aimed at catering for the growing interest in the topic throughout the BCF membership.

In fact, the day was a sellout, with over 100 delegates attending from dozens of different coatings companies and their supply chains. The fact that so many senior directors and MDs of companies joined the range of sustainability and operations managers in the discussions also signalled the importance of Net Zero to our sector and the willingness of our members to play their role in meeting key targets.

By attending this event members gained a deeper understanding of the supply chain decarbonisation process and an insight into the innovative

Sponsored by:

26 Covered Winter 2023

solutions that coatings suppliers and customers are working towards. It was a perfect chance to communicate, engage and encourage collaboration between manufacturers and suppliers to drive emission reduction initiatives. There were also opportunities for members to feed into the discussion, and to network with colleagues.

The focus of the day was on how to deal with scope 3 emissions.

These are the emissions that a company or organisation does not have direct control of within its supply chain – both upstream from suppliers and downstream with customers. A staggering 80% of an average company’s carbon footprint is produced by scope 3 emissions.

However, we know this is even higher for a coatings company, likely to be well above 90%. It is

therefore critical for the coatings industry to work with suppliers and customers on supply chain decarbonisation and we heard from various speakers how members can take a series of measures to bear down on this particular problem.

The discussions that followed were well informed, with the audience and speakers seeking to challenge each other to make greater improvements, offering each other advice, and urging the BCF to keep focussed on the Net Zero challenge.

The seminar also gave us the opportunity to officially launch the BCF’s Net Zero Roadmap for the coatings sector. You can read more about the roadmap on pages 6 and 7.

Tony Heslop, Senior Sustainability Manager, BASF

James Norton, Think Incentives; Noel Ferguson, Trident Utilities; Dr William Beer, Terrafend and Tunley; Danielle Heward, Optimo

Thorsten Bauer, Market Manager, TotalEnergies Fluides

Juliette Cauchy, Sustainability Manager, Imerys Performance Minerals EMEA

Mike Cairns-Terry, Principal Engineer, Progressive Energy

Dr Rob Portsmouth, Senior Vice President Sustainability and EHS, Venator

Lauren McKenzie, Sustainability Portfolio Manager, Sythomer

Covered Winter 2023 27

BCF crowned Best Trade Association of the Year at the 2023 Memcom Excellence Awards The BCF were awarded the prestigious title of Best Trade Association of the Year at the 2023 Memcom Excellence Awards ceremony at the Hilton Bankside on Tuesday 26th September in front of over 500 delegates.

The award was judged on various performance areas and was awarded to BCF based on their proven track record of outstanding member engagement and retention, demonstrating their commitment to their membership. BCF is delivering results through supply chain leadership in the UK, Europe and globally, all underpinned by a highly motivated, high-performing team that loves coming to work and going the extra mile for members, and stunning in-house marketing delivery.

One of BCF’s other contributing winning factors was its significant investment and ambition in its major innovative sustainability project on paint recycling, PaintCare, as well as record-breaking financial results, aided by prudent governance to buy out its final salary pension scheme deficit in 2022.

Memcom Award judges commented on the entry: ‘The British Coatings Federation demonstrated a fantastic story of strategy in action, with commitment and alignment to clear goals and a holistic approach to organisational success – covering financial, customer, people and sustainability dimensions. We were impressed with the proactive approach to member management resulting in significant growth. We also welcomed BCF’s efforts to drive sustainability and the proactive approach to lobbying on behalf of the sector.’

Tom Bowtell, CEO of the BCF, commented: ‘It’s five years since we were last recognised as the best Trade Association in the UK, and it’s fantastic to have achieved it again. I’m really proud of the team here at BCF and how they all go above and beyond expectations to support our industry. In the end, trade associations are about people, and I think that’s our key differentiator.’

BCF’s Senior Marketing & Design Executive Amy White, CEO Tom Bowtell and Finance & Training Administrator Lorraine Beard collecting the 2023 Memcom Best Trade Association of the Year Award.

28 Covered Winter 2023

Paint Brand Owners Forum The first Brand Owner’s Forum meeting was held in November at BCF Offices in Coventry. Brand Owners are paint companies, but as they not manufacturers they are not eligible for BCF membership. There has been an increase in this type of company in the last few years, and the BCF felt it would be useful to meet in order to get to know each other, share information and have some robust discussions.

The meeting was well-attended, with ten companies represented.

John Dixon (Whittle Industry Data) provided an extensive overview of the decorative coatings market statistics. This was met with great interest from the attendees, and although the outlook was relatively gloomy

the retail market was expected to bounce back in 2024/25. The BCF regulatory team reported on the headline regulatory issues, such as UK REACH and divergence from the EU. The introduction of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging was also on the agenda, as well as the importance of biocides.

Ciara Dempsey, BCF’s Regulatory Manager, spoke about the BCF Green Claims Guide for Decorative Paints, and participants were encouraged to give the guide their consideration. Some of the attendees commented that green claims were extremely important to their businesses, particularly as smaller players in a crowded market as these claims are often their unique selling point (USP).

The BCF Net Zero Roadmap was discussed, as well as hot topics such as microplastics and PFAS. The participants were particularly interested in the PaintCare leftover paint recycling scheme.

There was a great deal of enthusiasm about this initiative and attendees were keen to be kept informed regarding its development. Over the course of the meeting, it was interesting to see that in many instances the participants’ views aligned with those of BCF members, particularly on regulatory issues. Overall the meeting was considered a success, and it was agreed that it would be useful to make it an annual event.

Covered Winter 2023 29 Covered Winter 202329

BCF AT SURCON 2023

BCF’s Sustainability Manager Patricia Durany-Fernandez

The BCF was proud to support the recent Surcon event run by the Oil and Colour Chemists Association (OCCA). The event took place over two days at Warwick University at the end of November.

BCF’s Regulatory Affairs Manager Ciara Dempsey 30 Covered Winter 2023

The BCF’s Sustainability Manager, Patricia Durany-Fernandez participated in the panel session on Day One, on the topic of “Meeting Net Zero: challenges for industry and society”. The panel discussion was expertly chaired by Tony Heslop, Senior Sustainability Manager at BASF. There was a rich discussion on the coatings industry and the ways to reduce its carbon footprint. It was acknowledged that scope 3 emissions (i.e. emissions that are not directly produced by a company up and down the value chain) were a huge challenge for everyone, but particularly for smaller businesses. It is estimated that scope 3 accounts for over 90% of the carbon emissions for the coatings sector. However, Patricia and others were keen to point out that companies can still influence scope 3 emissions reductions through communication and collaboration, and that this will be key in the coming years. Panellists were also keen to get the message across that work on the road to Net Zero cannot wait, and work must start now in order to meet the 2050 target.

Tom Bowtell gave the keynote address on Day Two, on the topic of the Coating Industry’s Road to Net Zero. Tom informed delegates that in October 2021 the BCF Board had made a commitment to Net Zero by 2050. Over the last two years, the BCF had worked closely with members and other stakeholders to establish a roadmap, and recently launched the report “Road to Net Zero” at an event in Nottingham in November. Tom also highlighted the need for industry to work up and down the supply chain, the importance of renewable and bio-based raw materials, and the need for a surge in infrastructure investment for green energy.

The BCF invited Mike Hill (Department of Business and Trade) to participate in the panel discussion on day two, hosted by Paul Sheppard (OCCA President, Regulatory and Compliance Manager, HMG Paints) “UK Regulatory landscape: where are we now and where are we going?”. Ciara Dempsey, BCF’s Regulatory Affairs Manager, was also a panellist. The news about the UK REACH Alternative Transitional Registration Model (ATRm) were welcomed, however participants also raised about concerns about regulatory divergence, with some

BCF’s CEO Tom Bowtell noting that full alignment with the EU would be preferable. One particular point of interest and discussion was a question about the potential impact of a possible change in Government in 2024. Ciara noted that the BCF was engaging with members of the Labour party as well as the current Government, to try to ensure that an incoming Labour Government would be aware of the issues facing the coatings sector.

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www.2m-holdings.com

Covered Winter 2023 31

2M Energy

Obituary

Obituary

Chris Hamilton

As remembered by his colleagues

It is with the deepest regret and great sadness we share that Chris Hamilton, Commercial Director for Teknos Ireland and Teknos UK, passed away suddenly at his home on Saturday, September 2, 2023.

Chris had been a member of the Teknos family for many years and was the heart and soul of the Teknos Ireland team.

He had a deep knowledge of the coatings industry, both technically and commercially.

His customers regularly turned to him for advice on coating solutions to protect against the unpredictable Irish climate. Due to his background in the windows & doors manufacturing industry, he initially drove sales & support to the exterior coatings market. In recent years he was also building a growing customer base in coatings for interior wood & machinery in the local markets.

For everyone that Chris supplied paint and customer support to, nothing was too much trouble. His quietly spoken manner was combined with a steely determination that helped to drive the UK & Ireland business. No matter what his task though, his kindness and generosity of spirit always shone through.

The devoted father of a young family and beloved husband of Joanne, our deepest condolences go to his family and friends.

If you would like to share condolences with the family, please contact Mark Hubbert, Managing Director, Teknos UK & Ireland at mark.hubbert@teknos.com.

32 Covered Winter 2023

New members

If you would like to find out more about the opportunities available to our members, and the support we provide, please contact Ali Brown at: alison.brown@bcf.co.uk.

Full members Protek Products For forty years Protek have been making water-based timber coatings from their factory in Somerset. Protek is a small family run business that was started by Eric and Janet Thornborough in 1983.

Today the business is run by their daughters Becky Rackstraw and Harriet Farquhar.

The original vision to sell water based wood stains and paints is still at the heart of the business today. www.protekproducts.co.uk

KDR Resin Systems KDR Resin Systems Ltd is an independent, family owned UK manufacturer of seamless Resin Floor, Wall and Coving solutions for all Industrial & Commercial sectors. Formed in 2013 KDR have grown to become a leading supplier of Epoxy, Polyurethane Coatings, Screeds and Polyaspartic resin systems in the UK. Key personnel within the company have extensive experience not only in the manufacturing sector, but also in the application of resin based flooring materials. www.kdr-resins.co.uk

Community RePaint Community RePaint is a UK wide paint reuse network, sponsored by Dulux, which is made up of over 75 schemes. They collect leftover and surplus paint from Paint Manufacturers, Painters & Decorators, Retailers, Household Recycling Centres, Waste Management companies and redistribute it to benefit individuals, families, communities, and charities in need at an affordable cost. We also have two remanufacturing centres, that create larger quantities of our own branded ‘ReColour’ paint, made from leftover/ surplus paint, in over 18 colours, perfect for large projects that need over 60 litres of paint. www.communityrepaint.org.uk Covered Winter 2023 33

New members

If you would like to find out more about the opportunities available to our members, and the support we provide, please contact Ali Brown at: alison.brown@bcf.co.uk.

Associate members Omya UK Omya is a leading global producer of industrial minerals – mainly derived from calcium carbonate, dolomite and perlite – and a worldwide distributor of specialty chemicals.

The company provides innovative products and environmental solutions that contribute to its customers’ competitiveness in multiple industries such as Construction, Paper & Board, Polymers, Food, Pharma, Personal & Home Care, Agriculture, Water and Energy.

Founded in 1884 in Switzerland, Omya has a global presence extending to more than 170 locations in over 50 countries with 9,000 employees. www.omya.com

Orr & Boss Consulting Orr & Boss Consulting is a global consulting firm that covers the Coatings and Raw Material industries. Our global abilities, analytical approach, and focus on the Coatings industry sets us apart. We will never forget that our number one priority is to serve our clients.

We offer our clients three main services with all of them focused on the coatings sector.

• • •

Market Research Mergers & Acquisitions Operations Consulting

www.orrandboss.com

34 Covered Winter 2023

Upcoming events and meetings

All BCF meetings are now face-to-face at our offices in Coventry unless otherwise stated.

January

February

March

Visit our website to keep up to date with latest meetings, events and to register.

PROMTEK CONDOR

Helping factories takeoff With Condor Cloud, we handle all the maintenance and administration of your Condor server, including updates and security patching.

Covered Winter 2023 35

2024

SAVE THE DATE MAY

23

BCF Annual Conference and Industry dinner Worsley Park Marriott Hotel & Country Club, Manchester Sponsored by:

The BCF Annual Conference brings together industry experts to speak on key issues affecting the sector.

JUN

28

BCF Charity Cycle: Ride Warwickshire BCF offices, Coventry The fourth BCF Charity Cycle: Ride Warwickshire, raising money for The Community Heartbeat Trust.

BCF Awards

TBC

36 Covered Winter 2023

The 14th annual BCF Awards, which celebrates excellence and recognises innovation in the UK coatings industry.

Why join the BCF?

1 2

Regulatory support and advice

4

Influence regulatory issues

3

Information on UK/EU regulations

5

7

Access to comprehensive statistics

6 8

Take part in the Coatings Care sustainability programme

Raising your profile in the industry

Manage reputation risk

9

Network be part of the UK coatings industry

10

Discounts on training/ partnerships BCF badge adds credibility

++++

Covered Winter 2023 37

Where the Industry Meets Surfex is the UK’s event for the paints, inks, coatings and surface technology industry featuring a large exhibition running alongside a comprehensive programme of scientific, technical and topical industry content.

With extensive access to a whole spectrum of suppliers, scientists and industry experts, Surfex delivers the ideal meeting place to develop new ideas, source solutions to technical challenges, find inspiration, enhance knowledge and address key issues.

Visit www.surfex.co.uk to find out more and investigate exactly what you can achieve at Surfex.

EXHIBITION THE CUTTING EDGE SURFACING SCIENCE TECHFOCUS INDUSTRY INSIGHT

Supported by:

4-5 June

Organised by:

38 Covered Winter 2023

2024

Coventry Building Society Arena