This month, twenty-one top CEOs and Senior Industry Executives representing 13 leading independent paint companies from around the world will be in Barbados for the NOVA Conference 2023.

NOVA is an alliance of some of the world’s leading paint and coating manufacturers and it is a major accomplishment to have this conference in Barbados for the first time. The conference has attracted participants from regions as far as Thailand, Greece, Israel, Germany, Portugal, Europe, UK, Argentina, Canada and the USA. The Caribbean is represented by Harris Paints. All member companies are independently owned and operated and are focused on taking market share from multinational conglomerates in their respective countries.

NOVA group companies employ more than 10,000 people and sell over US $3 billion worth of products every year. The various companies share an entrepreneurial spirit as well as common corporate values of social responsibility as they give back to their many communities around the world. They are all committed to maintaining a sustainable environment, with environmental responsibility and sustainability being a key theme of this year’s conference.

Two high level experts have been invited to the Barbados conference to speak to the participants, one is a sustainability consultant from the UK while the other is a bio-based raw material manufacturer from the USA.

Dr. David Blunt was the Global Director for Sustainability at AkzoNobel Decorative Coatings dealing with product, marketing & communication, before setting up his consultancy to assist similar companies to grow in the area of sustainability and business. Christopher Miller PhD is a recognised thought leader in the area of Sustainable Development for the coating industry and is the Sustainable Development Technical Coordinator for the coating solutions segment at Arkema Coating Resins – a world market leader in materials for the coatings industry with over 125 locations around the world.

In addition to these two speakers, there will be a number of round table discussions, on topics and issues that are very relevant to the industry, not only in Barbados, but around the world. The Deputy Prime Minister Santia Bradshaw is expected to address the gathering at one of the formal plenary sessions.

The group will also be visiting various sites where Harris Paints is presently being applied. They will stop in at the Wyndham Hotel project at Sam Lord’s Castle where Harris’ premium Ulttima Plus paints with Quantum i12 technology has been used extensively, and then visit the large housing development at Ridge Meadows to observe Harris’ unique elastomeric trowel finish, Elastotex, during application.

The delegates will also visit various retailers of Harris Paints including the Harris ColourCentre in Wildey, in addition to enjoying sightseeing, leisure and dining activities across the island.

This conference will allow the companies to share best practices, discuss trends in the industry and collectively, they plan to identify a large-scale eco-project for group investment and collaboration.