Hempel opens new factory in Argentina

The factory will give Hempel better penetration of the rapidly growing South American market, meaning shorter lead times for customers and the possibility of developing and customising products to meet local environmental legislation and standards.

The 3,000m² facility is part of the company’s ‘One Hempel – One Ambition’ growth strategy, and is one of three new plants scheduled to open in 2012 and 2013. Lars Johansen, group vice president – Americas: “At the moment, we supply the South American market from our production facility in Singapore. The Buenos Aires plant will cut down lead times and streamline our supply chain. We’ll be better placed to serve existing and new customers in the region, as well as develop and customise products faster.”

With a production volume of 10.5 million litre/year, the $17 million facility will employ 30 people by the end of 2012. The plant is designed for future expansion and features the latest paint production equipment, including conical dissolvers that enable very flexible production runs down to 20% to 30% of maximum capacity. To control the speed at which the powder is fed into the machine from the bags, a sonic system monitors the frequency generated from the dissolving process and adjusts the powder feed accordingly. To reduce emissions from the cleaning process, all the tanks are linked to a closed circuit cleaning system, which is sealed during the cleaning process.