At Nippon Paint Marine, our Research and Development efforts are centred on developing and improving marine coating products used in shipbuilding and vessel maintenance. Teams in R&D work to explore and refine coating technologies that support performance and environmental considerations in real applications.
In this edition of our employee blog series, we introduce Hiroto Sonada, who has been at Nippon Paint Marine for the last five years, contributing to the development of marine coating systems from primers to topcoats.
Hiroto Sonoda, Development Group, Research and Development Department at Nippon Paint Marine
Since joining Nippon Paint Marine, I have been involved in the development of marine topcoats and anti-corrosion coatings. In my first year, I worked primarily on topcoats, handling tasks such as colour matching, while learning from senor colleagues.
Into my second year with Nippon Paint Marine, I became involved in the development of shop primers and in the last two years, I have taken responsibility for epoxy primers. Over time, I have gained experience across a wide range of products, broadening my technical perspective and understanding of the full marine coating system.
Contributing through innovation
I was drawn to Nippon Paint Marine because of its warm corporate culture, which continually challenges itself to innovate and make significant contributions to society. Within the marine coatings business this mission feels especially meaningful. By developing new coating technologies, we can help protect vessels while also engaging in environmental conservation and contributing positively to society.
In my role, I believe that achieving strong results requires both curiosity and collaboration. While laboratory experiments are essential, they are not enough on their own to bring a successful product to market. Developing good products requires incorporating diverse viewpoints; not only from developers, but also from factory teams, construction sites and customers. Listening to different perspectives and reflecting them in product development is key to creating coatings that reliably deliver high-performance in real-world conditions.
Reviving a 40-year legacy
One of the most interesting projects I have worked on involved the development and launch of a new shop primer. This project in my second year at Nippon Paint Marine marked the first time in around 40 years that Nippon Paint Marine had launched a new shop primer product.
Alongside the launch, the welding compatibility test, a certification test unique to shop primers, was also conducted for the first time in around four decades. As very few people are familiar with the detailed methods used in past welding compatibility testing, I feel it is a rare opportunity and a valuable experience to be involved in this project.
Development beyond the laboratory
For me, satisfying customers means adopting their perspective and clearly defining what makes a “good paint” to meet their needs. To innovate in a way that achieves good results, it is important that we seek our diverse perspectives and consider input from other departments, external partners and customers.
At Nippon Paint Marine, developers collaborate with production departments and conduct factory manufacturing and on-site test applications as we create products. Personally, I am involved in market launch activities for the first product I developed after joining the company, working closely with various departments. This is an experience that has given me insights that laboratory work alone could not provide and reinforced the importance of cross-functional cooperation. A collaborative approach is vital to continuing to deliver marine coatings that drive performance and help Nippon Paint Marine and our customers grow.
