Canadian Finishing & Coatings Manufacturing Magazine Jan/Feb 2023 - 8

NEWS
Umicore and PowerCo Explore EV
Battery Materials Partnership
Umicore and PowerCo, Volkswagen's battery company, aim to extend their
collaboration in battery materials and are exploring a strategic long-term supply
agreement to serve PowerCo's future battery Gigafactory for electric vehicles (EVs) in
North America.
This planned, non-exclusive agreement, would make PowerCo an important
customer for Umicore's planned battery materials production plant in Ontario. This
future facility would combine the production of precursor and cathode materials
and thereby complete the missing link in Canada's battery value chain from natural
resources to electric mobility.
Umicore is in negotiations with several potential customers for production
contracts in North America. These will form the basis for the company's final
investment decision and underline its commitment to value creating returns. Pending
those contracts, Umicore expects to start construction of its Ontario Gigafactory in
2023 and operations at the end of 2025 with the potential to reach, by the end of the
decade, an annual production capacity capable of powering approximately one million
EVs. The plant could start supplying PowerCo as of 2027, with up to 40 gigawatt-hours
(GWh) annually by 2030, equivalent to about 550,000 EVs.
" Taking our partnership across the Atlantic, would foster Umicore and PowerCo's
shared strategic convictions of enabling and accelerating clean mobility on a secure
and sustainable local-for-local basis. For Umicore, a long-term cooperation with
PowerCo would support our plans to build Canada's first-of-its-kind precursor and
cathode materials facility, which would in turn provide PowerCo with secure access to
these critical materials and enable the ramp up of its battery cell production in North
America, " said Ralph Kiessling, executive vice-president of Umicore.
A long-term supply of Umicor's next-generation battery materials would fit both
companies' strategies to develop regional and fully integrated battery supply chain
for North America. In Europe, the two companies agreed in September to form a joint
venture to produce battery materials for about 2.2 million electric vehicles a year by
the end of the decade.
Gema promotes
Merritt to VP
Gema USA
Inc. has
announced
that Chris
Merritt
has been
promoted to
vice-president
of Gema North
America.
In his new
role, Merritt will be leading strategic
development and growth initiatives
within North America. Merritt has
more than 38 years of service with
Gema in multiple positions. Since
2006 he has been the general manager
of Gema North America. Entering
the finishing industry in 1984 with
a degree in mechanical engineering
technology, Merritt started as an
engineer within the powder equipment
group of Ransburg Gema, a division of
the Ransburg Corporation.
As an active participant and leader
within the powder coating industry,
Merritt is a published author and
speaker about powder coating, and
actively presents at a variety of
technical conferences and training
classes. He is a member of several
industry associations and is a strong
supporter of the powder coating
industry trade association, the Powder
Coating Institute (PCI). He has served
in a variety of leadership roles within
PCI and is currently serving on the
PCI Board of Directors executive
committee. Merritt is also a holder
of several US patents related to the
powder coating industry.
Chris Merritt
Gardco Launches New Customer-Focused Website
Paul N. Gardner Company (Gardco) has launched a new
customer-focused website, gardco.com, that provides an easy
way for customers to search for products, place orders, chat, and
learn about the company's comprehensive range of testing and
inspection solutions in 15 languages.
As a worldwide partner of the paint, coatings, plastics,
chemicals, powders, paper, packaging, and food industries,
the new Gardco website aims to elevate the overall customer
experience by offering multiple brands of popular items to
provide a comprehensive offering.
New functionalities include e-commerce solutions for its
8
www.cfcm.ca
entire product line; online chat with live experts; customer login
accounts and access to purchase history. The site search function
includes images, old part numbers and more; and there is an
updated knowledge library with whitepapers, articles and FAQs on
products and applications.
" Our improved website is now easier to navigate and is a
comprehensive resource for customers and those looking for
physical testing equipment, " states John Kowalski, head of
marketing. " Over the course of this year we have an aggressive
plan to populate it with even more product content, videos, articles
and more to solidify Gardco as the go-to industry resource. "
http://www.gardco.com http://www.cfcm.ca
Canadian Finishing & Coatings Manufacturing Magazine Jan/Feb 2023

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