Nippon Paint Marine (Osaka, Japan), the world’s first manufacturer of biocide-free marine coatings, has announced the appointment of Gladys Goh as its president, effective immediately.
As president of Nippon Paint Marine Coatings, Goh is the first female and foreign national to lead a principal operating company in Japan. Goh joined Nippon Paint Malaysia in 2006, driving the brand to become Malaysia’s top coatings provider and, subsequently, leading expansion into new markets. She concurrently serves as senior vice-president, Strategic Innovation & Marketing, at NIPSEA Group.
With a history of more than 140 years, the marine division is the founding business for the Nippon Paint Holdings Group. The marine coatings business works with customers across 30 countries in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, North America, and South America. Its products have been applied to more than 40,000 vessels, from tankers and containers to cruise liners and yachts.
“I’m honored to have been appointed as president of the Nippon Paint Marine Group, and I am also proud to be able to reflect and represent the diversity of talent within the business,” says Goh. “We operate in an increasingly dynamic and fast-changing market, as the shipping industry faces multiple challenges. From improving its sustainability and meeting decarbonization targets, to ensuring profitability during testing economic and geopolitical times. However, these challenges also bring many opportunities to innovate, to evolve and to create technologies and solutions that can drive genuine impact and positive change. My vision for growth is to deliver a multiplying effect that will drive this, enhancing our people’s capabilities, optimizing operational efficiency, and delivering greater value to our customers.”
Over the course of 2024, Nippon Paint Marine plans to launch several new products to market, including expanding its leading antifouling solution, FASTAR, to incorporate Hydrogel “water-trapping” technology for both ocean-going and coastal-range vessels. It is also focusing on developing low volatile organic compound (VOC) levels in both antifouling and anticorrosion coatings to meet regulatory compliance and regional VOC requirements, especially in key markets such as China and South Korea. Lowering VOC emissions helps protect the health of individuals working at shipyards and contributes to the overall sustainability of the marine industry.
Nippon Paint Marine will also strengthen its cargo hold and cargo tank solutions, including offering methanol-resistant coatings in line with the industry’s increased use of methanol as a viable new fuel to meet decarbonization targets. In 2024, the company will further expand its supply points, to include North America and South Africa, following the acquisition of new locations in Australia, Egypt, and Gibraltar last year.
Source: Nippon Paint Marine, www.nipponpaint-marine.com.