ARNHEM, The Netherlands — Akzo Nobel announced an agreement to acquire the commercial vehicle coatings business of Mason Coatings plc of the United Kingdom, described as the UK market leader in the manufacture of paint, graphics, and decals for the transportation industry. Akzo Nobel said the agreement with McLeod Russel Holdings plc, the owner of Mason Coatings, includes Mason’s Coatings and Graphics division. Akzo Nobel said it will combine Mason’s brands with its Cromadex CT and Sikkens brands, a move that Akzo Nobel said will result in the “broadest product and service range on the market.”

Rudy van der Meer, the member of Akzo Nobel’s Board of Management responsible for coatings, said the acquisition, in addition to broadening the company’s position in paint, “gives us access to the very attractive business for graphic applications on vehicles, which we want to expand into the rest of Europe.” Mason Coatings, which was started approximately 200 years ago, had sales of 41.3 million euros in 1999.