What Sherwin-Williams Automotive Division - Chicagoland does

Sherwin-Williams Automotive Division - Chicagoland is a regional operating unit of Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes, one of eight industrial coatings divisions within The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE: SHW, founded 1866). The unit, based in Burr Ridge, Illinois, serves automotive OEMs, commercial refinishing operations, and fleet customers in the greater Chicago metro with high-performance liquid, powder, electrocoat, and waterborne coatings, backed by the parent company's global network of more than 5,000 company-owned locations across 120+ countries.

The underlying technology stack spans multiple chemistries including epoxy, polyester, polyurethane, polysiloxane, intumescent, and resinous systems, delivered through recognized brands such as valPure (non-BPA packaging), FIRETEX (intumescent fire protection), Macropoxy (epoxy mastics), Acrolon (polyurethane finishes), Sher-Loxane (polysiloxane topcoats), Powdura (powder coatings including recycled-content ECO line), Accelera (rapid-cure flooring), and SHER-WOOD (waterborne wood finishes). The parent emphasizes safety-by-design development protocols and has accumulated more than 100 regulatory approvals for valPure non-BPA technologies across major regulatory jurisdictions.

Revenue is generated primarily through one-time product sales of industrial coatings, complemented by hardware (equipment and supplies) and professional services (technical services, color and design services). Pricing is quote-based rather than self-service, with multi-year contracts common, and go-to-market combines direct field sales, enterprise sales representatives, company-owned locations, and digital lead capture through the corporate website. The broader industrial coatings franchise is organized by vertical (aerospace, automotive, coil & extrusion, general industrial, high performance flooring, industrial wood, packaging, protective & marine), which diversifies exposure but ties unit-level results to local commercial mix.

Name

Sherwin-Williams Automotive Division - Chicagoland

Legal name

The Sherwin-Williams Company

Website

https://industrial.sherwin-williams.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1866

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sherwin-Williams Automotive Division - Chicagoland is a regional sales and service unit of Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes, supplying high-performance coatings for automotive OEMs, commercial refinish shops, and fleet operators across the greater Chicago metropolitan area.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Coatings

NAICS

Paint and Coating Manufacturing (32551)

SIC

Paints, Varnishes, Lacquers, Enamels & Allied Prods (2851)

akta.pro primary industry

Automotive & Transportation Coatings (IMAEAGAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Automotive & Transportation Coatings (IMAEAHAC), Passenger Vehicle Paint, Coatings & Surface Finishing (ICE) (IMACAAAD)

Keywords

• Industrial coatings
• Automotive finishes
• Refinishing coatings
• Fleet coatings
• Paint products

Headquarters

HQ city

Burr Ridge, Illinois

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Industrial Coatings Products: Sherwin-Williams generates revenue through the sale of industrial coating products across multiple divisions including Aerospace, Automotive Finishes, Coil & Extrusion, General Industrial, High Performance Flooring, Industrial Wood, Packaging, and Protective & Marine coatings. Products are sold through direct sales representatives, company-owned locations, and distribution networks.
2. Equipment and Supplies: The company partners with key vendors for equipment and supplies providing daily, just-in-time access to coating supplies and spray equipment - more than 15,000 offerings in total for applicators to enhance their coatings process.
3. Technical Services: Value-added technical services including application training, specification support, site surveys, shop throughput optimization, and other technical assistance for customers.
4. Color and Design Services: Sherwin-Williams provides color and design services including DesignHouse consultations, Virtual Panel Studio, Color Visualizer, Color Express System, and Aurora Color System for matching and retrieving color formulas.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Sherwin-Williams Automotive Division - Chicagoland sells versatile, high-performance coating products for the automotive, commercial refinishing, and fleet industries. The division supplies OEM-approved automotive finishes, refinish paints, fleet coatings, and supporting technical and color-matching services to body shops, dealerships, fleet operators, and automotive manufacturers across the Chicagoland region.

Product overview

Sherwin-Williams Industrial Coatings operates as a multi-division portfolio company offering innovative, industry-leading coating solutions across eight specialized divisions: Aerospace Coatings, Automotive Finishes, Coil & Extrusion Coatings, General Industrial Coatings, High Performance Flooring, Industrial Wood Coatings, Packaging Coatings, and Protective & Marine Coatings. The company operates in more than 120 countries through over 5,000 company-owned locations. The product portfolio spans liquid coatings, powder coatings, electrocoat technologies, intumescent fire protection, and resinous flooring systems. Key branded products include FIRETEX intumescent coatings, valPure non-BPA packaging coatings, Macropoxy epoxies, Acrolon polyurethanes, Sher-Loxane polysiloxanes, Accelera flooring technology, Powdura ECO powder coatings, and SHER-WOOD wood finishes. The company emphasizes sustainability, technical expertise, and comprehensive customer support including application training, specification services, and site surveys.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• valPure: Non-BPA packaging coating technology umbrella brand including epoxy, polyester, and acrylic coatings for food, beverage, and household product containers.
• FIRETEX
• Macropoxy
• Sher-Loxane
• Accelera
• SHER-WOOD
• Powdura
• Florenza

Products and services

• Automotive Finishes Versatile, high-performance coatings for the automotive, commercial refinishing and fleet industries serving OEMs, body shops, dealerships, and fleet operators.
• Aerospace Coatings Trusted, spec-driven aviation coatings for interior and exterior applications serving the aerospace industry.
• Coil & Extrusion Coatings Complete portfolio of time-tested coil and extrusion coatings engineered for best-in-class performance and color.
• General Industrial Coatings Advanced solutions in liquid, powder and electrocoat technologies for OEMs, tier suppliers, industrial designers and applicators.
• High Performance Flooring Seamless, resinous flooring solutions combining durability with design aesthetics in commercial and industrial facilities.
• Industrial Wood Coatings Coatings and finishes for wood cabinetry, furniture, flooring and building products.
• Packaging Coatings Innovative metal and plastic coatings for the food, beverage and household product packaging industries.
• Sher-Loxane 800 Two-component, isocyanate-free polysiloxane finish providing corrosion protection and aesthetic finish used in protective and marine applications.
• FIRETEX FX9502 Two-component intumescent epoxy coating providing up to three hours of fire protection on a wide range of beams and columns with exterior durability and impact resistance.
• Heat-Flex AEB Thermal insulation coating engineered to eliminate corrosion under insulation (CUI), replacing traditional mineral-based insulation systems for energy sector assets.
• valPure V70 First non-BPA epoxy technology for food and beverage cans using tetramethyl bisphenol F (TMBPF), with over 250 billion cans coated with V70 having entered the market.
• Powdura ECO Next-level sustainability powder coatings utilizing recycled plastic waste, with one pound of Polyester coatings containing recycled plastic equivalent to sixteen 16 oz plastic bottles.
• Accelera One Advanced clear grout and topcoat technology for decorative flake and quartz flooring systems with rapid curing, extended workability, and superior chemical and sterilant resistance.
• Macropoxy 646 Fast Cure Two-component, high-solids, fast-drying polyamide epoxy mastic designed for protective coating applications.
• Macropoxy 4600 Two-component, phenalkamine cured, zinc phosphate epoxy coating for enhanced corrosion protection.
• Acrolon 7700 Two-component, acrylic polyurethane coating for durable finish applications.
• SHER-WOOD EA Hydroplus Environmentally Adaptive waterborne topcoat technology for wood finishing with excellent application properties including tolerance for high humidity up to 75%.
• Florenza Italian Series Premium Italian wood coatings available in 1K and 2K waterborne, and 2K solvent-borne polyurethane and acrylic for high-end interior finishes.
• Color and Design Services Color matching, design and formulation services including DesignHouse consultations, Virtual Panel Studio, Color Visualizer, Color Express System, and Aurora Color System for manufacturers.
• Technical Services Value-added technical services including application training, specification support, site surveys, shop throughput optimization, and other technical assistance for customers.
• Protective & Marine Coatings Asset protection coatings and linings for specification-driven markets including infrastructure, oil and gas, marine, fire protection, and water/wastewater industries.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 250 billion cans have been coated with valPure V70 technology
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Puget Sound CoatingscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSeattle-based application shop that applied Sherwin-Williams Firetex FX9502 and Sher-Loxane 800 coatings for the 303 Battery building project. Sherwin-Williams dispatched technical service representatives to ensure quality control during the coating application process.
• Equipment and Supplies VendorsminorOthersSherwin-Williams partners with key vendors for equipment and supplies providing daily, just-in-time access to coating supplies and spray equipment. More than 15,000 offerings available through these partnerships.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Kansai Paint: Kansai Paint is a major Japanese and global coatings company with automotive OEM and industrial coatings as core segments. Comparable technology positioning and OEM customer relationships.
• RPM International: RPM International is a diversified specialty coatings holding company with industrial, protective, and automotive-related coatings subsidiaries. Comparable broad coatings reach across multiple end-markets.
• Hempel: Hempel is a privately held global coatings company with strong positions in marine, protective, and industrial coatings, increasingly active in adjacent automotive-adjacent segments. Comparable global distribution and specification-driven coatings focus.
• Akzo Nobel: Akzo Nobel is a leading global paints and coatings company with automotive and industrial coatings offerings (under its Vehicle Refinishes and Industrial businesses). Comparable global scale and broad portfolio overlap.
• Nippon Paint Holdings: Nippon Paint is one of the largest global coatings companies with growing automotive and industrial coatings exposure. Comparable broad-coatings portfolio and global footprint.
• PPG Industries: PPG is one of the largest global paints and coatings companies, with significant automotive OEM, refinish, and industrial coatings businesses. Overlapping technology platforms and customer segments make it a key broad incumbent comparable.
• BASF (Coatings division): BASF's Coatings segment serves automotive OEM, refinish, and industrial markets globally. As part of the world's largest chemical producer, BASF offers comparable scale, raw-material control, and automotive coatings technology.

Direct peers

• Axalta Coating Systems: Axalta is the most direct comparable: a publicly traded global coatings company focused on automotive refinish, OEM, and industrial coatings. Its product portfolio, customer base (OEMs, body shops, fleets), and technology positioning are closely aligned with Sherwin-Williams' Automotive Finishes division.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sherwin-williams-automotive-division-chicagoland

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sherwin-Williams Automotive Division - Chicagoland