AkzoNobel’s International brand was the official coatings supplier for the Volvo Ocean Race. Cardiff was one of the stop of points of the gruelling round-the-world race, so we looked back on some of the work to protect Stadia in the Welsh capital.
 

Cardiff City Stadium
 

Home of Cardiff City Football Club and the Wales national football team, the Cardiff City Stadium was officially opened in 2009. In 2014, following the Stadium being awarded the hosting of the UEFA Super Cup Final, it set upon increasing its capacity to over 33,000 by expanding the Ninian Park Stand.

AkzoNobel coatings were used to protect the original structure, with application taking place at Rowecord Engineering, Newport in 2008 but also the expansion, with application at Mabey Bridge, Chepstow in 2014.

A total of 32,000 liters of Intercure 99 was used, as well as 9,000 liters of Interchar passive fire protection on the stadium’s steelwork. According to Tim Doherty, AkzoNobel Sales Manager for UK South, “Our products were chosen for their ability to offer rapid cure and high durability, and were a cost effective solution that aided throughput and dramatically reduced transport and erection damage.” As to the current state of our coatings since application, “these are as good as the day they were applied”, Tim continued.
 

Millennium Stadium
 

Initially built to host the 1999 Rugby World Cup, the Millennium Stadium, or "Principality Stadium" as it’s known in Cardiff, is the national and biggest stadium in Wales.

Home of the Wales national rugby union team, the multi-purpose stadium has a total seating capacity of 74,500 and it is currently the second-largest stadium in the world with a fully retractable roof.

The stadium’s structural steel is protected with a total of 13,500 liters of Intercure 200 and Interfine 629HS covering an area of 60,000m². A spokesperson from structural engineers WS Atkins said on our involvement at the time of the application: “We rely on AkzoNobel to produce good, high quality paints to ensure our structures keep their initial appearance and integrity for as long as possible.”
 

Providing essential protection throughout the Volvo Ocean Race
 

Apart from the participating boats which were all protected with International and Awlgrip coatings, the Volvo Ocean Race organization shipping containers transporting cargo around the world during the race also benefited from our protective coatings. Interthane 990 and Interplus 356, known for their durability and reliability in aggressive environments, were used to protect them.

The same coating system was used for the shipping containers that teamAkzoNobel used to transport their kit during the race. In addition, the goods containers carrying the paint supplies and mixing racks supporting the Volvo Ocean Race Boatyard in Lisbon where the competing boats were serviced and prepared for their round-the-world adventure were also coated with our products.