What does the investment mean?
AkzoNobel, which is the company who makes Dulux and Hammerite paint is investing £10.7m in a new research facility which will be situated in north-east England.
The firm has made the decision to put money into its R&D site in Felling, Gateshead.
The firm doesn’t just make household paint, it also produces specialist coatings for the mining and energy industries.
The new research facility will be able to simulate extreme environments, this will be similar to temperatures in the North Pole or a fire on an oil rig, to help test new products.
Ton Buchner, AkzoNobel’s chief executive, told the BBC: “We are creating a kind of a campus of different research and development activities and strengths that we can then use for products that can be sold in the rest of the world,”
Research is set to focus on the protection of hydroelectric dams so they can last longer, coatings to reduce emissions from coal fired power plants and new innovations in fire protection.
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