Will Gibbs, a Development Chemist at Dulux Acratex, received an award in recognition of the instrumental role he played in developing a new Dulux product – AcraTilt.

“I was very surprised to be nominated by a peer and receive the quarterly Business Recognition award,” says Will. “It was great to be recognised and rewarded for my contribution to Dulux Acratex.” Will Gibbs received the award, a gift voucher, for his work in creating a new product - AcraTilt, within a short turnaround time, putting Acratex ahead of competitors and enabling the business to increase its market share. Will, together with his line manager Shane Langkilde, developed AcraTilt. They were supported by other chemists during the product development process.

AcraTilt is a membrane paint product developed specifically for tilt up concrete construction projects. With AcraTilt, only two coats of paint are required, and no primer is necessary, making the painting process quicker.  AcraTilt has seen a steady growth in sales since the product was launched in mid-2020. Will Gibbs has worked for Dulux Acratex, a DuluxGroup business, since early 2015. He joined Dulux after graduating from Flinders University with a Bachelor of Science (honours), majoring in Chemistry. Will participated in the DuluxGroup graduate program during his first three years with the company. He says the graduate program was a good networking opportunity and he would recommend it.

“Dulux is a great place to work,” says Will. “Employees are treated well, there’s a positive culture, and everyone works well together.  I enjoy the variety in my job – doing developmental chemistry work with paints, textures and render.” Will Gibbs was one of the first recipients of Acratex’s new awards program, refined last year to recognise employees that deliver on the company’s strategy to grow in new markets and build on its current core business.

Acratex offers the following quarterly awards: Business Recognition Award, Operations Achiever Award, and the Acratex Ambassador award.  The John Dimoglides Golden Trowel award is awarded annually to an employee who has made a significant contribution to the Dulux Acratex business and exemplifies Acratex’s core purpose of ‘looking great forever’.