Winn & Coales International Donates £35,000 for the Turkey-Syria Earthquake Appeal

Winn & Coales International Ltd. has donated £35,000 for the Turkey-Syria Earthquake Appeal to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC). The donation has been made possible by the F.B. Coales No.4 (Family) Trust; a registered charity set up by the late Frank Coales, the then chairman of the company.

In the early hours of Monday 6^th February, a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey (now known as Türkiye) and north-west Syria. This was followed hours later by a 7.5 magnitude earthquake. The quakes were so powerful that tremors were felt as far away as Cyprus, Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan.

Buildings, such as homes, schools, and hospitals, have been destroyed. Local infrastructure, including roads and bridges, have been seriously damaged. Survivors of the tragedy have been forced onto the streets where they are exposed to harsh winter conditions.

It is estimated that 35,000 people have died as a direct result of the disaster, with over 70,000 injured. As rescuers continue to search through the rubble of collapsed buildings, both figures are sadly expected to rise.

The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), which unites 15 member charities who are experts in humanitarian aid and specialists in different areas of disaster response, launched the Turkey-Syria Earthquake Appeal on Thursday 9^th February. The DEC only launch appeals at times of monumental suffering. With the earthquakes predicted to have impacted up to 23 million people within the region, the DEC swiftly responded.

DEC charities and local partners on the ground are aiding search and rescue efforts, alongside providing medical treatment for the injured. Emergency shelters for thousands of displaced survivors are being set up and access to essential items such as food, clean water, warm blankets, and medical supplies are all being prioritised at this time.

Winn & Coales International Ltd. and the F.B. Coales No.4 (Family) Trust are proud to support the DEC and its partners in the humanitarian response. For further information or to donate to the appeal, please visit the DEC website here: https://www.dec.org.uk/appeal/turkey-syria-earthquake-appeal

Premier Asian Conference 2023

The Premier Asian Conference returned with much fanfare in August 2023 after a five-year hiatus.

For over 20 years, the Premier Asian Conference, or PAC for short, has brought together distributors and sales partners from across Asia for presentations, practical demonstrations and face-to-face meetings with representatives from Premier Coatings Ltd. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the biennial event last took place in 2018; however with the easing of COVID restrictions and international borders reopened, the PAC was finally able to proceed.

After a highly successful conference in 2018, the Premier team were delighted to return to the JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort in Phang-nga for this year’s event. Attendees representing 15 countries were presented with a busy schedule of activities, covering a broad range of topics alongside regional and company developments.

Since the previous PAC, regional managers have changed territories, new team members and distributors have been welcomed into the fold, and the Premier product offering has continued to expand – most notably with the launch of Premier Bore-Wrap™ and the acquisition of the global Viscotaq™ visco-elastic coatings business in 2021. The itinerary therefore provided attendees with the opportunity to connect with faces old and new and receive in-depth product knowledge from Premier experts.

This year also saw our distributor partners themselves present to the group, with exceptional presentations from Parallel Industrial Co and 3S Engineering Solutions being highlights of the event.

As is customary with every PAC, the social activities arranged for our assembled guests are just as important to the schedule of events. Evening meals held next to the beach provided invaluable networking opportunities and a chance for everyone to wind down at the end of each day and watch the sunset over the ocean.

And the PAC wouldn’t be complete without the Premier Golf Day held on the final day of the conference. This year the event was held at the Blue Canyon Country Club in Phuket and saw competitors facing off in the extreme heat of the Thailand summer over the 18-hole course. The hotly contested event saw Mr Kim of KCP walk away as the victor of this year’s golf trophy, with admirable efforts put in by all golfers.

With presentations complete, suitcases packed, and the sun-setting on another successful PAC, our assembled guests returned home with renewed knowledge and enthusiasm for the opportunities provided to them. Rian Kurniawan of PT. Indo Riau, Indonesia commented:

“I was able to find out first-hand how to apply each Premier Coatings product that was demonstrated. This conference also made me more confident than before to tell you several things related to what Premier can offer as a specialist in corrosion protection systems and provider of waterproofing/sealing systems.

I was also very impressed with the friendliness of the other participants who took part in the conference; they were willing to share stories regarding their difficulties and the strategies they implemented to promote Premier products. I learned quite a lot from the experiences they told me.”

From the Premier team, we extend our sincerest thanks to all attendees, contributors and helpers who made this year’s event an incredible experience for all.