Company Announcement - DuPont Titanium Technologies, the largest producer of titanium dioxide products globally, has announced that it is bringing DuPont Ti-Pure products closer to Africa with the establishment of a major regional distribution centre in Durban for the specialist products manufactured using DuPont’s proprietary chloride-base process. DuPont Titanium Technologies, a global leader in the coatings, paper, plastics and laminates industries, is a long-standing member of the SA Paint Manufacturing Association. The new DuPont Africa distribution facility’s AAA-grade warehouse has its own container yard and handling equipment. It caters for both bonded and non-bonded storage, and has capacity to hold up to 1,000 metric tons of Ti-Pure. DuPont says in a statement that its product offering will now be more readily available, thereby supporting the local coatings and plastics industry with faster, more effective distribution throughout South Africa as well as the Sub-Saharan Africa region.
Heike van De Kerkhof, MD for DuPont Titanium Technologies in Europe, Middle East and Africa, said at the opening of the new Durban facility: “Global companies with a presence in South Africa all cite numerous advantages for setting up a presence here: from a skilled yet affordable labour force and excellent infrastructure, to a high growth and investment opportunity. According to TechNavio’s Global Industrial Coatings Market report, the global industrial coatings market will grow at 4.46% over the period 2013-2018. Over the same period, the Sub-Saharan Africa market is anticipated to grow at a minimum of 5%. “Africa pose high growth and investment opportunity with the coatings and plastics industry benefiting significantly from the GDP growth over the last few years, on the back of growing automotive, construction and building sectors. The continent plays an increasingly important role in DuPont’s strategy to accelerate growth,” van De Kerkhof stated.
Deryck Spence, Executive Director of SAPMA, who attended the launch of the new DuPont regional distribution centre, applauded DuPont for its strategic vision and initiative for recognising the future growth potential of Africa and utilising the existing infrastructural advantages that South Africa offers investors.
“DuPont Titanium Technologies has not only extended its resolve in servicing the South African coatings Industry by increasing its product differentiation but has, in difficult economic conditions, invested in South Africa as confirmation of its belief that Africa is an emerging market for the future. This is a commitment for which SAPMA applauds DuPont management,” Spence added.