Top coat

Erik Aaberg, group executive vice president for Jotun Paints.

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Approved applicator status comes in different categories, depending on the company’s size and skill base: there are more approved for decorative paints than for the more complex fire protection systems.

Jotun’s business in the Middle East is around 60-65% decorative paints, powder coatings is 10%, marine accounts for between 5-10%, and protective coatings is the balance of 20-25%. That business comes from an array of sources, whether maintaining oil rigs in shipyards, or painting houses in the sleeping giant of Oman.

“Oman we are surprised about. It is a very good market,” said Aaberg. Spreading its interest has helped to insulate Jotun from the ups and downs of recent years, and the company has even recorded some volume growth this year.

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“In the region, we’ve had 10% volume growth this year,” said Aaberg. “We are trying to diversify into different areas, having built a very strong distribution network.”

The distribution network includes 1750 shops, which service small to medium contractors. The company is predicting more growth in decorative products.

Areas such as Oman, where the company claims in excess of 50% market share, are a big contributor to this kind of growth.

“We’ve been in Oman 25 years,” said Aaberg. “Things might not appear big in Oman because there are no skyscrapers, but still there is a lot of volume and it’s a big country with a lot of housing and all the houses, one by one, add volume to the business.”

For larger scale business the pitch is one of quality. The company is keen to sell on the specification of its products, said Aaberg.

“It’s the system that matters first, then after the system you can have all the colours in the world,” he said. “We sell the specification of our products to the consultant, then the design team can choose the colour.”

“People believe we are the ones producing quality paint, since we are big they come to us and ask how we can help.”