JULY/AUGUST 2019 STOWMARKET PAINT PLANT
Great British
Factories
This month we explore the rich history of
AkzoNobel’s paint plant in Stowmarket
“When I started here in 1974, I
was one of 11 family members.”
This was said by Paul Moye in
June, as he retired after 45 years’ service at
the AkzoNobel site in Stowmarket. This quote
epitomises the family traditions of the site
and the loyalty to the plant shown by many
generations of Stowmarket workers. They
have the seen the transition of the site from a
chemical and paints factory owned by Imperial
Chemical Industries (ICI), to a decorative paints
plant that’s part of a global business run by
Dutch giants, AkzoNobel.
The brands of Dulux paint and Armstead
paints have been the leading products produced
at the site, treasured by the many thousands of
workers who have passed through its gates over
the decades.
The fi rst paint was made at the site in the
1920s. ICI developed the range of products
further after the Second World War when
demand sky-rocketed on the back of post-war
house building expansion and rising consumer
expectations in the home furnishings market.
The Dulux range derives from the combination
of the words ‘Durable’ and ‘Luxury’, and the
marketing of the range has been promoted
for over 60 years by the brand mascot of an
Old English Sheepdog. The branding is so well
known that many people simply call the breed
‘Dulux Dogs’. One of the dogs, Digby, even
starred in his own fi lm in 1973.
in 1972 when new paint manufacturing vessels
were installed and new fi lling lines connected,
all of which are still at the heart of paint
production today. In the 1970s and 1980s, with
ICI still a centrepiece of British Industry and the
Stowmarket factory its fl agship site, the company
prided itself on being the best employer in
the town. When the site employed hundreds
of workers, it also boasted staff canteens with
round the clock kitchens, a very popular social
club and pub for the staff to use during their
breaks, and bowling greens and gardens.
The 1990s and early 2000s were a time
of corporate challenges for ICI. The more
specialist chemicals side of the business was
sold to American group, PPG, and the site
was split in two, in a way that remains to this
day. In 2008 ICI was acquired by AkzoNobel,
which owns the site to this day as part of its £9
AkzoNobel continues to invest heavily in
The site has embraced the digital age and
The site’s environmental credentials are
Today the plant can produce up to 100
million litres of paint a year to supply the
UK and European markets. It employs around
100 people to do this, making it one of the
most effi cient sites in AkzoNobel’s portfolio
and has recently recruited 12 more to boost
production further.
Many of the workers have been at the site
for over 30 years and are part of a continued
fl ow of Stowmarket people through the gates
for over 100 years. They are all dedicated to
ensuring that the rich heritage of the ‘Dulux
Family’ provides for a rich future for many
generations to come.
100m
litres of paint are produced
each year at AkzoNobel’s
Stowmarket plant
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billion worldwide operations,
employing 46,000 people.
the site as part of its future paint production
network around the world. Whilst the basic
paint manufacturing and fi lling technology still
uses much of the 1972 investments, there have
been further refurbishments in 2007 and since.
The major development of the site took place
uses state of the art scheduling, manufacturing
execution systems and platforms in continued
effi ciency drives to produce the highest quality
paint at the lowest possible cost.
based on zero waste to landfi ll, recycling water
back into further paint batches and using a
waste heat recovery process to trace heat
outdoor raw material tanks in the winter to
prevent damage to products.
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