Surface World January 2019 Surface World January 2019 | Page 4
INDUSTRY NEWS
Let’s paint the future together – the
AkzoNobel startup challenge begins
Calling all startups,
scale-ups,
entrepreneurs and
innovators! The fi rst
edition of Paint
the Future – the
AkzoNobel startup
challenge is now open
and ready to discover
new and revolutionary
solutions that will
accelerate innovation
in the world of paints
and coatings.
The challenge connects bright minds and
promising solutions from across the globe
with AkzoNobel’s expertise, global scale and
resources. Innovators, challenge teams,
institutions and industry experts will work
together to enhance the submitted ideas,
forming a truly collaborative ecosystem.
Spearheaded by the company’s Chief
Technology Officer Klaas Kruithof, Paint the
Future offers winners the opportunity to
accelerate commercialization of their
solution.
“We can’t wait to see what exciting
developments this collaborative experience
brings to the paints and coatings industry,”
says AkzoNobel CEO, Thierry Vanlancker.
“We’re driven to create value for our
customers, passionate about what we do and
always looking ahead. Now, we’re looking to
go even further, painting the future together
with the world’s coolest innovators.”
Adds Kruithof: “Paints and coatings is a
dynamic, technology-driven industry. We
know the future lies in working with others
and being open to cross-industry solutions.
Exploring the new technology frontier, we will
LIVE 2020
2
Brief challenge descriptions:
be able to introduce new features, improved
products and more ways to delight our
customers – and accelerate some truly
exciting innovations.”
Smart application
How could your solution change or improve
the way customers apply our products?
Launched in partnership with KPMG,
the challenge focuses on fi ve key areas:
Enhanced functionality
Smart application
Enhanced functionality
Circular solutions
Life science infusion
Predictable performance
What exciting new functionality can your
technology offer to make coatings cleaner,
more responsive or adaptive?
Circular solutions
Register at letspaintthefuture.com to join the
platform, submit solutions and contribute
industry expertise as part of the community.
More information about the challenge, this
year’s five themes and submission process
are also available in greater detail on the
website.
How would your solution enable circular use
of materials at any point in our value chain?
Life science infusion
How can your solution, containing bio-active
technology, help bring better performance or
innovative features to our coatings?
The deadline for new submissions is March
1, 2019, and participants on the platform
will continue to explore, discuss and enrich
ideas until March 12, after which AkzoNobel
experts will select finalists to participate in the
finals event in Amsterdam May 14 to 16.
Shortly thereafter, the company will begin
working with winners on sustainable business
opportunities.
Predictable performance
How can we collect and augment data more
innovatively to make predictions for real
world surface performance more accurate?
Watch the video on the
Paint the Future challenge here:
https://youtu.be/Nmrvhd610YA
Surface World Live 2020 will be returning to Hall 11
at the NEC in Birmingham. The next show will be held
on the 18th & 19th March 2020.
- we have everything covered
JANUARY 2019
If you are interested in booking a stand then call Nigel Bean
on 01442 826826 or send him an email at [email protected]
read online: www.surfaceworld.com