From left to right: Tom Branscome, AkzoNobel Powder Coatings Western Regional Sales Manager; George Hotchkiss, AkzoNobel Powder Coatings, Market Segment Manager – Architectural & Furniture; Frances Hogsten, Haworth, Vice President, Global Sourcing; and Kevin Bailey, Haworth, Vice President, Business Groups and Global Operation.
AkzoNobel Powder Coatings North America has received the Haworth 2011 Supplier Innovation Award for developing its Interpon F2010 furniture product/technology.
The F2010 Technology is the next generation of coatings developed for Haworth's ever-changing product lines. AkzoNobel says the technology has unsurpassed color and gloss stability across many cure ranges, as well as improved hardness and scratch resistance over the previously supplied coating. They say these are all necessary requirements to improve decreased delivery damage and seamless product matches across many manufacturing plants.
Over the past year, 95 percent of Haworth‟s products have been transitioned to the F2010 technology, generating almost $1.5 million in savings for Haworth.
George Hotchkiss, Market Segment Manager for Architectural and Furniture at AkzoNobel, says: “We are extremely proud to receive this award from Haworth. It is a great credit to our commitment to innovation and the high standard of our customer service.”
The award recognizes a long and successful relationship between AkzoNobel and Haworth, dating back to 2000 when Haworth approached AkzoNobel to develop a coating product to improve the application transfer efficiency of their production lines. AkzoNobel rose to the challenge with its "z-chemistry," marking the start of a productive relationship built on innovation.
Over the 10years prior to the development of the F2010 technology, AkzoNobel representatives worked with Haworth manufacturing to align their cure schedules, reduce rejections and improve overall efficiency. Many innovative ideas and solutions were presented, leading to $2.5 million USD in documented savings within Haworth‟s manufacturing process, and no doubt contributing to AkzoNobel being selected for this prestigious award.
