The Nova Paint Club

Citation

Bean, J. (1999), "The Nova Paint Club", Pigment & Resin Technology, Vol. 28 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/prt.1999.12928baf.002

The Nova Paint Club

The Nova Paint Club

John Bean

Keywords Nova Paint Club, Paint industry, Paints

Introduction

As the Nova Paint Club enters its 16th year with member companies in 15 countries around the globe, John Bean (technical editor of Pigment & Resin Technology) spoke to Peter Lovell (Plate 1), the club's secretary general, on its origins, objectives and possible future trends. Peter Lovell said that, in essence, the Nova Paint Club was formed to give consumers a choice in the face of domination of the coatings market by a diminishing number of multinationals. It was based on trust between its members, which has enabled it to become the number seven in the world league of paint manufacturers.

Plate 1 Peter A. Lovell ­ Nova Paint Club secretary general

The questions and answers:

JB What were the objectives in founding the Nova Paint Club, how does it operate?

PAL The Club was formed in 1983 by a number of well established paint companies from around the world, who wished to exchange information and technology so as to compete more effectively against the large multinational organisations. Since the club was founded there have been a considerable number of technology transfers between members and joint projects have been initiated and brought to fruition. In addition, activities have been co-ordinated in areas as diverse as colour mixing schemes, software for production planning, raw material purchases, quality systems and powder coatings. There is an ongoing technical programme, carried out by an established technical committee. A marketing committee has also been established.

The headquarters of the club are in Geneva, Switzerland, where the club's lawyers are also based. There is a permanent secretary general, with offices in the UK, a technical co-ordinator based in Canada, and a group raw material purchasing co-ordinator based in South Africa.

JB How far is membership restricted, e.g. size or turnover of potential member company; is it one per country etc.?

PAL The Nova Club currently has 15 members world-wide, and the intention is to keep numbers close to this current level, so as to maintain an easy, informal co-operation. We restrict membership to one company per country and we aim for a good geographical spread. Obviously turnover and importance in their own home market are factors that we take into account when considering applications; however, we also look for potential benefits that a new member could bring to the club.

JB How many of the founders in 1983 are still members? Why did some leave?

PAL From the original seven companies three are still members. We have a policy that if a member company is taken over by, or itself becomes, a multinational then it no longer qualifies for membership. Major ownership changes that have taken place in our industry affecting mainly medium sized national companies is reflected in these losses.

JB Would it be true to say that the NPC has enabled its members to keep up with the R&D of the large multinational players.

PAL The large multinational players have by and large tended to concentrate on global technologies in order to follow the needs of their global customers ­ examples such as automotive OEM, coil and packaging coatings. These are not areas where as a group the Nova members are normally active in their own right. Where our members benefit, however, is by having access to world class specialist technology to meet local needs without specific R&D investment, and by sharing and exchanging data on research programmes. This has meant that our members' R&D budgets are being more effectively utilised and in a number of areas we offer state-of-the-art technologies.

JB Can you give a specific area where NPC members have made technological advancements to share among the other members?

PAL This is an ongoing process and one of the key reasons why we keep our members. The club operates a secure bulletin board for the posting of requests and receiving replies. We operate an open policy concerning the transfer of technical information and our guidelines provide for free exchange in all areas except technology already covered by a licensing agreement.

JB Do members feel that this pooling of technical knowledge has helped them in tackling the problems presented by ever-increasing environmental legislation?

PAL The answer is yes and the fact that we bring together companies from around the world where differing types or stringency of legislation apply has been particularly useful in addressing this subject and planning for the future.

JB As secretary general do you see any trend among members towards either high-solids, radiation-cured coatings or powder coatings to reduce VOC emissions?

PAL I think there has been a trend this way for a number of years with varying degrees of success depending upon the practicalities involved. I would also comment that there has been a lot of progress of late with new water-based technologies.

JB It would appear that the NPC members are predominately manufacturers of industrial coatings, rather than decorative. Is this by accident or design?

PAL There are actually now a number of members who are mainly involved in decorative coatings and as a result our technical agendas now provide for a greater concentration on these aspects than was the case in the past, when we tended to concentrate solely on industrial matters.

Membership

To qualify for membership the candidate:

1. 1.

   shall operate its main business in a different country to that of the existing members;

2. 2.

   shall assign a significant percentage of annual turnover to research and development;

3. 3.

   shall not be a part of a multinational group.

The following information is required from any company interested in applying for membership:

1. 1.

   Number of employees.

2. 2.

   Turnover in US Dollars ­ total and in industrial paints.

3. 3.

   Major industrial and other markets currently serviced by present range of products.

4. 4.

   Number of chemists employed.

5. 5.

   Areas where wish to obtain new technology for exploitation.

6. 6.

   Any existing licence held for industrial paint products.

Subject to the approval of the board a visit to the company is then made by the secretary and one member of the Nova Paint Club, who would then support the application being made to the board of directors. Admission to the club is declared by a vote of the board of directors acting unanimously.

As much of the information that is made available and shared is of a confidential nature, all members are required to sign a secrecy agreement on both a corporate and individual basis.

The annual subscription is currently $6,000 and there is a joining fee of $6,000 to cover expenses.

The purpose of the Club and benefits of membership

1. 1.

   Direct access without research to technical information and technologies that the members do not have individually. (Club members have their own secure web site for technical exchanges.)

2. 2.

   Reduced costs of purchased items through participation in various group negotiated schemes (on raw materials club members have their own secure web site for accessing and sharing data in respect of prices, usage and compatibility).

3. 3.

   The facility to harmonise programmes in the spheres of technical development and marketing.

4. 4.

   The opportunity to organise either jointly or individually with another member or members common research programmes.

5. 5.

   A forum exchange, free and gratuitous, on the following subjects:

   • •

     Existing and new raw materials offered into the market.

   • •

     Competitor activity in members' own country.

   • •

     Marketing policies, promotional activities and results of market research.

   • •

     Management structure and details.

   • •

     Industrial effectiveness and benchmarking.

   • •

     Production equipment experience.

   • •

     Customers' application equipment and advice on existing and new.

   • •

     New analytical techniques.

   • •

     Colorimetry and colour measuring techniques.

   • •

     Use of computer hardware and software for commercial and financial controls.