GRI Renewable Industries and Hempel enter into strategic partner-ship agreement

The new strategic partnership is a further strengthening of a long-term cooperation between the two companies as they expand the scope to include research & development on potential innovative products; trying to minimise the cost of surface treatment for wind turbines while guaranteeing high quality. Hempel continues to support GRI Renewable Industries remaining competitive throughout the entire process.

“At Hempel we like to innovate together with our customers, and we continue support GRI Renewable Industries reaching their business and sustainability targets. Therefore, we are pleased to extend our long-term relationship to also include research and innovation,” says Michael Han-sen, Chief Commercial Officer at Hempel, and continues; “GRI Renewable Industries is very skilled within tower manufacturing and tower design, and this coupled with Hempel’s expertise in coatings and surface treatment processes makes this a good partnership in terms of exploring innovative solutions for the renewable energy industry with lower VOC* and less time spent on sur-face treatment preparation.”

“GRI Renewable Industries continues to rely on one of its trusted suppliers, optimising our processes and complying with our ambitious sustainability goals,” says Pedro Velasco, Chief Supply Chain Officer at GRI Renewable Industries.

The collaboration between GRI Renewable Industries and Hempel also includes the University of Sevilla. The strategic partnership is focused on sustainability and prolonging the lifetime of wind towers. The ambition is to reduce surface treatment cost by 10 per cent and lowering VOC by up to 50 per cent. The first steps in the new cooperation around research & development will take place between GRI Renewable Industries’ R&D facility in Sevilla, and Hempel’s laboratories in Barcelona and Denmark. From here research and testing of different coating solutions will be undertaken to explore what coating solution will best match GRI Renewable Industries’ needs.

The University of Sevilla participates under the umbrella of the project Andalusia, Alentejo and Al-garve innovation Centre (CIU3A), a project which is co-financed 75 per cent by the European Re-gional Development Fund, Programme of Cooperación Interreg VA Spain - Portugal 2014-2020.This is one of the Innovation Centres that the University of Seville plans to launch in the cur-rent mandate of Government Team, which will be complemented by three innovation centres in Aeronautics, Agri-food and Energy and Mobility.

For further information, please contact:
Nina Lomborg Linneke
Communication Manager
Phone: +45 6155 1500
Email: communications@hempel.com

* VOCs (Volatile organic compounds) are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids, and include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short- and long-term adverse health effects.

As a world-leading supplier of trusted coating solutions, Hempel is a global company with strong values, working with customers in the decorative, marine, infrastructure and energy industries. Hempel factories, R&D centres and stock points are established in every region.

Across the globe, Hempel’s paints and coatings can be found in almost every country of the world. They protect and beautify buildings, infrastructure and other assets, and play an essential role in our customers’ businesses. They help minimise maintenance costs, improve aesthetics and increase energy efficiency.

At Hempel, our purpose is to shape a brighter future with sustainable coating solutions. We firmly believe that we will succeed as a business only if we place sustainability at our heart. Not only is it the right thing to do, it will strengthen our competitive position, make ourselves more resilient and reduce our risk.

Hempel was founded in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1915. It is majority owned by the Hempel Foundation, which ensures a solid economic base for the Hempel Group and supports cultural, social, humanitarian and scientific purposes around the world.