DuPont training centre lands in Pointe Claire

BY ANDY BLATCHFORD

andy.blatchford@transcontinental.ca

Global automotive painting leader DuPont Canada lifted the drop sheet Friday to unveil its new coating and finishing education centre in Pointe Claire.

DuPont Performance Coatings — the multinational’s automotive, aviation and industrial finishing branch — opened the modern facility at its existing Trans-Canada Highway site. “We realize we have to offer much more than a can of paint,” DuPont Refinish’s director Ray Anderson told about 100 employees and clients who gathered in the new digs last week. “We need to offer tools and skills and knowledge and training. If (our customers) don’t grow sustainably we don’t grow sustainably. It’s about making our customers more successful.”

Around 3,000 students are expected to pass through its doors each year for courses on product and small business training.

Pupils will consist of DuPont product users from several disciplines, including collision repair and industrial coating.

The modern centre features a 12,000-square-foot production area — equipped with the latest painting technology — two large classrooms and a cafeteria.

Students are expected to travel from around Quebec, eastern Ontario, the Maritimes and northeastern United States to take part in the classes, offered in both French and English.

The company is also excited about

the progress of its waterborne painting technologies, DuPont Canada president Bill White said.

He called the products, which leave less of an impact on the environment than solvent-based paints, “real breakthroughs.” “Sustainability is really core to DuPont, and it’s not just what we do in producing our product,” White said. “It’s making our customers successful in how they manage their environmental obligations to improve the environment for all of us.”

Lac St. Louis MP Francis Scarpaleggia, on hand for the launch, lauded DuPont’s commitment to the environment. “I’m very pleased to hear DuPont will be using the most recent and most environmentally-friendly paint technology,” said Scarpaleggia, a member of Ottawa’s environment committee. “This is very much consistent with DuPont’s strong environmental position.”

Pointe Claire Mayor Bill McMurchie, meanwhile, said witnessing the expansion of companies already in the city is as much a pleasure as welcoming new businesses. “When a company increases their investment in... the West Island, I cannot help but interpret that as a sign of confidence in the community,” McMurchie said of DuPont, which planted its roots in Pointe Claire around 30 years ago.