Top coat

Erik Aaberg, group executive vice president for Jotun Paints.

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Paint is big business. The coatings that cover almost every aspect of the built environment provide an essential layer of protection. And they are in more places than you might think.

From the heights of the Burj Khalifa, to the length of the Dubai Metro, or the houses all over Oman, coatings with qualities developed specifically for this market are keeping out heat, UV and moisture.

The company that stakes its claim as the regional leader is Jotun. With business segments covering decorative paints, marine coatings, protective coatings and powder coatings, the company has made its mark on some high-profile projects.

“We are still doing the final touches for the Burj Khalifa,” said Erik Aaberg, Jotun Paints’ group executive vice president.

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“The painting work started from level 100 up to the top and is still going on. There’s interior paint, aluminium powder coatings, plus the spire on top is coated by our products, and we gave them a 20 year guarantee for that.”

Although the company hails from Norway, its business is world wide, as is its production. It has regional manufacturing facilities in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Oman, the UAE and Yemen. It is also expanding its North African interests having recently broken ground on a new 20 million litre manufacturing facility outside Tripoli, in Libya.

It’s not just a matter of selling paint though. In jobs as complex as that of the Dubai Metro, there are plenty of performance issues to consider. For this reason the company supplies to applicators that have been trained by its own team.

“We also have inspectors on site to ensure the consultant is getting what they expect,” explained Aaberg. “Because, at the end, they may request a guarantee from us, so we must make sure the work is going the way we want. Site supervisors will make sure the right system is actually put on the wall.

“There are Jotun approved applicators. We issue that approval based on criteria such as reputation, projects and manpower.”