AkzoNobel is set to increase its presence in the North American yacht coatings market after agreeing to acquire New Nautical Coatings, owner of the Sea Hawk brand. The financial details of the acquisition have not yet been disclosed.

“North America is a key region for our Yacht Coatings business – it’s the largest Yacht Coatings market in the world – so this is an excellent deal which perfectly complements our activities and offers excellent opportunities for growth,” says AkzoNobel CEO, Thierry Vanlancker.

According to AkzoNobel, privately owned New Nautical Coatings is one of the top players in the North American yacht coatings business. Operating a specialised production facility out of Clearwater Beach, Florida, the business is most active in North America with further sales also being generated in the Caribbean and Australasia. AkzoNobel goes on to explain that the Sea Hawk brand enjoys high customer loyalty among yacht owners, shipyards and maintenance service providers.

“Acquiring New Nautical Coatings means we’re now well-positioned to expand our operations in North America and further improve the service levels for our customers. It’s an established business, with a strong product portfolio, and we’re excited to welcome the widely-admired Sea Hawk brand in the AkzoNobel family,” adds Jean Michel Gauthier, director of AkzoNobel’s Marine, Protective and Yacht Coatings business.

While within the 30m-plus superyacht market it has been a number of years since the US accounted for a large number of significant new build projects, the refit machine in the US, especially in Florida, still accounts for a large number of the world’s superyacht projects. Furthermore, large superyacht infrastructure developments in the US will make the region far more competitive globally for large, costly refit projects, especially given that US buyers continue to dominate the world of superyachts. For the coatings industry, the US represents an excellent opportunity for growth.

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