Expert advice on paints from Sigma professionals.
Sigma upgrades
The new improved version of Sigma Paints' software package offers customers objective advice on paints and application solutions.
01 January 2002
Sigma Paints has launched version two of its SigmaStar software offering comprehensive advice on paints and paint-related topics to customers.
The company, a leading maker of decorative paints in the Middle East, says market feedback suggests SigmaStar version 2 will be a bigger success than Version 1 which was launched in 1999 and has more than 1,000 active users.
Among the users are architects, consultants, contractors and other professionals working in the building and construction sector.
"SigmaStar has evolved into a very useful tool for those professionals who do not want to waste a lot of time and paperwork to obtain objective advice on paints and paint-related topics,'' says Bob Jack, technical services manager of Sigma Paints in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. "The software contains information and advice on a variety of topics such as paint systems, problem prevention, health and safety and application techniques."
The most frequently used module of SigmaStar is 'Paint System Advice'.
This module guides the user through an interactive questionnaire. Based on the user's answers, SigmaStar recommends one or more paint systems that are suitable for the job.
The advised paint systems are defined from primer/filler up to and including the finish coat. The software contains over 100 individual paint products and 1,500 different paint systems.
All technical data sheets and system sheets are available in the software and can be printed in a user-friendly format. So the only papers a user gets, are the papers he/she actually requires.
"Version 2 is not just a simple update, because we decided to re-write the software completely to enable us to incorporate as many user suggestions as we could," says Jack. "The overall user-friendliness has therefore improved substantially."
Other additional features in SigmaStar version 2 are that installation and operation is easy (independent of the type of hardware and software used) and that it provides for calculating quantities and prices for any project.
''After installing SigmaStar, the CD is no longer required in order to run the program. Instead the CD can be given to any colleague for another installation,'' he adds.
The paint products and systems in the software are applicable and advised only for the company's 'markets in the GCC, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon.
Sigma Paints Saudi Arabia is a leader in the development, production and marketing of decorative paint, protective coatings and marine coatings in the Middle East with an annual production capacity of 60,000 tonnes and 250 employees.
Established in 1980, with its own production, storage, research and development facilities in Dammam, Sigma Paints claims it offers Middle East customers highest quality paints with paint and application solutions.
