Kemira: Tikkurila's Alcro-Beckers first to display the Swan label on
exterior paints
Kemira Oyj
Press Release
June 10, 2009 at 9.00 am (CET+1)
Today, Alcro-Beckers AB became the first company to receive the
Nordic Ecolabel known as "the Swan" for its exterior paints.
Alcro-Beckers AB is part of the Finnish Tikkurila that is responsible
for Kemira's paints and coatings business. This recognition is in
line with Tikkurila's long-term environmental focus, which aims at
developing paints with the smallest possible impact on the
environment.
"Exterior paints form a product area, in which environmentally sound
choices really make a difference. The Nordic Ecolabel helps both
professionals and consumers to choose correctly," says Ragnar Unge,
Managing Director, Ecolabelling Sweden AB.
"Being the first to be granted the Nordic Ecolabel for exterior
paints is proof that our environmental focus is producing concrete
results. Our target is to continuously develop high-quality paints
with a minimal environmental impact," says Niklas Frisk, Managing
Director, Alcro-Beckers AB. The company has decided to limit 99% of
its paint selection exclusively to water-borne products by the end of
2010. Alcro-Beckers sells decorative paints to consumers and
professional painters in Scandinavia and is the leader in Sweden with
a 40% share of the market.
The Nordic Ecolabel is the official environmental label of the Nordic
countries. It sets strict requirements on the entire life-cycle of
products, from raw materials to production and use, and finally to
disposal of waste. For example, paint must not contain solvents or
any chemical substances that disturb hormone systems. Heavy metals
are also forbidden.
The quality of a product displaying the Nordic Ecolabel must be on
the same level, or exceed, that of products without ecolabels. Tests
carried out by the Nordic Ecolabel show that Alcro-Beckers'
ecolabelled paints have excellent resistance to flaking, cracking and
blistering. They maintain their gloss and color while also protecting
the painted surface from algae and fungal growth.
Tikkurila is the leading paints and coatings company in Finland,
Sweden and Russia and one of the leaders in its field in the Baltic
States. Tikkurila provides consumers, professional painters and
industrial customers with branded products and expert services in
approximately 40 countries. Its range consists of decorative paints
and coatings for the wood and metal industries. In 2008, the company
had revenue of EUR 648 million and a staff of 4,000.
For more information, please contact:
Alcro-Beckers AB
Anna-Lena Högfeldt, Marketing Manager
Phone +46 8 775 609 94, mobile phone +46 70 745 60 64
Ecolabelling Sweden AB
Anja Grundberg, Press Contact
Phone +46 708 65 51 36, anja.grundberg@svanen.nu
Tikkurila Group
Susanna Aaltonen, Vice President, Group Communications
Phone +358 9 8577 2488, mobile phone +358 40 593 4221
www.alcro-beckers.com, www.beckers.se, www.alcro.se, www.svanen.nu,
www.tikkurila.com
Kemira is a focused company, best in water and fiber management
chemistry.
In 2008, Kemira recorded revenue of approximately EUR 2.8 billion and
had a staff of 9,400. Kemira operates in 40 countries.
www.kemira.com
This announcement was originally distributed by Hugin. The issuer is
solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
