MARINE COATINGS
After a slow start, Jotun performed well in 2020, retaining its world-leading
market position in marine coatings. In the beginning of the year,
the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in low activity at key new building
shipyards and financial stress on shipowners, resulting in declining sales
of marine coatings. However, thanks to newbuilding contracts secured in
2018 and 2019, and increased activity in the maintenance market driven
by the scrubber regulations, Jotun was able to regain momentum by the
third quarter to finish the year with good results.
2020 saw the launch of several ground-breaking innovations. In March,
Jotun launched the concept Hull Skating Solutions (HSS), the industry’s
first proactive hull cleaning system. Jotun also launched the industry’s first
solvent-free universal primer, enabling shipyards to achieve more efficient
application and significantly increases the lifecycle of the asset.
Looking ahead, a decline in newbuilding orders and rising raw materials
costs are likely to impact Jotun’s business in the Marine Coatings segment
next year. To prepare for a more challenging newbuilding market, Jotun
will continue to support existing and new customers and shipyards with
innovative solutions. In the maintenance market, Jotun will continue
to develop its business support tools, such as the company’s remote
performance monitoring (Jotun Voyager) and demand planning (SeaStock
Management Solution) to meet the demands of an increasingly data-driven
industry.
POWDER COATINGS
In early 2020, Jotun reorganised its Powder Coatings business to prioritise
subsegments with the strongest market potential and enable local
companies to make decisions closer to the markets and customers they
serve. While overall sales were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in
2020, the new structure helped strengthen the technical fundamentals
of the business, manufacturing and manageable costs, enabling the
company to finish the year on a positive note.
By encouraging regional sales teams to focus on industries where
Jotun has especially strong products, the company was able to better
capitalise on business opportunities. For example, flat growth in the
Building Components and General Industries markets were rebalanced
by excellent results in the Pipeline market. Likewise, Jotun’s geographical
footprint helped the company offset slow growth in South East Asia and
West Europe with excellent results in East Europe and the Middle East.
Jotun also invested new lines to the factory in Russia and completed a
significant expansion of the production facility in the Czech Republic on
budget and on schedule.
To improve profitability, the company will focus on the development
of products with a competitive edge. These include pipeline coatings,
specialised coatings for automotive components, metallics, fast-curing
coatings for building components, and coatings that protect exterior
metal casings for such items as electrical switchboxes, generators
and outdoor furniture, among others. Jotun anticipates that as more
customers seek alternatives to high solvent liquid coatings to improve
environmental performance, the global market for powder coatings will
increase.
4. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (R&D)
Headquartered in Sandefjord, Norway, Jotun’s R&D function includes
a global network of regional laboratories in the UK, Turkey, Malaysia,
Thailand, the US, Dubai, India, South Korea and China. These laboratories
focus on regional product development, adapting or customising existing
products, the testing of raw materials, quality assurance, and providing
claims and verification services when required.
In 2020, Jotun completed construction of a new, state-of-the art R&D
centre in Sandefjord, Norway. The new facility is made up of offices and
workstations for up to 350 chemists and support staff. The complex has
been rated as “very good” by BREEAM-NOR, a Norwegian adaptation
of the globally recognised BREEAM standard (Building Research
Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method) and will be powered
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Board of Directors
in part by a custom-built heat exchanger, providing clean, renewable
energy from the fjord. Also, construction of a new R&D centre in Dubai is
expected to be completed in 2021.
Over the past five years, Jotun chemists have increasingly focused on
meeting growing demand for healthier, more environmentally responsible
paints and coatings, engineered to meet new or pending regulations.
For example, Jotun has developed the industry’s first solvent-free steel
primer to help shipyards comply with stricter limits on the use of VOCs.
To help owners and real estate developers add value to buildings, Jotun
has developed solvent-free steel protection products and ultra-low VOC
interior paint systems, supported by the necessary documentation, to
help them win points for “green building” certification.
By investing in facilities, personnel and new technologies, Jotun will be
in a stronger position to meet customers in regulatory challenges and
achieve their business objectives.
5. COMPETENCE DEVELOPMENT
Jotun has three competence development pillars: The Jotun Academy,
a vital resource for strengthening corporate culture and individual
skills within key business areas; Digital Learning, an advanced suite of
digital tools that provides point-of-work learning and helps employees
keep pace with change; Team Development, delivering workshops
and tools to enhance team effectiveness. These provide a platform
whereby structured, targeted training and support translates to lasting
improvement and behavioural change.
Because the COVID-19 pandemic placed restrictions on in-person training,
Jotun concentrated their efforts to digitalise critical training courses. To
make training available online, content was split into shorter modules and
classes were rearranged into half-day sessions. Also, new digital-friendly
learning tools were introduced. Out of the 48 training programmes
available in the Jotun Academy portfolio, 21 are available digitally.
Jotun Annual Report 2020 I 11