Sheikh Hamdan and Jan Petersen, Norwegian minister of Foreign Affiars cut the ribbon.
Jotun opens new facility
Leading paint manufacturer looks all set to cater to the fast growing demand for paints in the region following the inauguration of its largest facility in the Middle East, in Dubai.
01 April 2004
Jotun Paints, a leading paint manufacturer in the region, has opened a new Dh70 million ($19 million) state-of-the-art factory in Dubai last month and has plans to built for another facility in Yemen where the company has been supplying its products for some time.
Officially inaugurated by Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance and Industry, the plant is a landmark project for the international paint company.
The factory, which is the biggest worldwide for Jotun and the Middle East, has a capacity of 40 million litres of liquid paints and coatings a year. Construction of the plant in Al Quoz industrial area has taken three years to complete and the new operations are housed in a sprawling 50,000 sq m area.
The facility will cater to the markets of Dubai, the Northern Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain.
Opened in response to the blistering pace of development in Dubai and an ever-increasing demand for liquid paints and coatings, Jotun aims to be able to support many future projects within Dubai and the region.
“Our business is inextricably linked to the UAE and this investment and the increased manufacturing capacity go hand in hand with the anticipated, continued expansion in the region,” says Erik Aaberg, managing director of Jotun. “We are without hesitation, committed to the UAE’s progress.”
The company, established 30 years ago has enjoyed significant growth and development in the Middle East. Jotun is a recognised leader in protective, marine and decorative paints and holds an impressive reputation for teamwork, quality and friendliness. As a priority, the company has ensured that health, safety and environmental measures have been stringently adhered to. These focus on the reduction of solvent, vapour and dust emissions, observing all the necessary safety procedures and keeping manual load handling to a minimum, he says.
Elaborating on the safety features, Aaberg says: “Closed production equipment, automatic fire detection, water recycling systems and explosion-proof production equipment ensure that Jotun’s paint factory exceeds all the requirements for a safe and healthy working environment.
“The factory has been divided into two specific areas, each with two working floors. One section will house water-based paints whilst the other will be used for solvent based. This divided has been implemented to heighten safety, fire and explosive measures in the solvent-based area.
“Tank farms and silos have been located throughout the factory with a capacity of up to 1,000 tonnes of raw materials. These instruments, aided by a network of computers, will allow liquids and powders to be pumped directly into production tanks or dissolvers. Such state-of-the-art techniques and the investment in innovative handling systems are expected to dramatically reduce production times, minimise handling and ensure a generally safer, more sophisticated work environment for employees.”
One factor that has contributed to Jotun’s success is its unique and original paint machines which, according to Aaberg, have ‘literally brought colours to the doorstep of customers’. Jotun can now offer the construction industry a mind-boggling 16,000 colours with 30,000 variations.
“However, it is in the domestic market that Jotun has applied the latest technologies to give it the edge over competitors. The company has installed 500 paint machines in paint shops and outlets, enabling customers to match and select colours that match their taste.
“The machines offer sophisticated colour solutions and hold the entire database of shades; likewise handheld scanners can scan any colour from any material to find a perfect paint colour match. The objective of applying these techniques is to enable the customers to get a preview of the final outcome once redecoration is complete.
“Such innovative concepts have positioned Jotun as the number one paint manufacturer and retailer in the region. Competitors are close on its heels in terms of technological advances, however, we are confident that our recent growth rate will continue.
“The annual paint market in the Middle East is 500 million litres, of which Jotun accounts for 100 million litres. Market share is being closely fought for as the industry increases by an estimated 10 per cent each year, a consequence of the continued construction boom in the region.”
Whilst Jotun enjoys a 40 per cent share of the market in the UAE, the group admits it faces tougher challenges from competitors in other parts of the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia. In response to this, Jotun has continued to apply the same tried-and-tested tactics in newer markets, which has earned it a reputation in the UAE. One such strategy is to build local factories, which can cater for and supply regional colour preferences and tastes.
“We should never underestimate the different tastes that exist across the region, particularly in the decorative marketplace. One of our key strengths is to establish ourselves in new market places at an early stage and to maintain our presence by consistently supplying the local market with what they want,” says Aaberg.
Jotun has created an outstanding company presence since it first entered the region in 1975.
“The experience we have gained over the last three decades has proved that if you can do the right thing at the right time you will be rewarded,” says Aaberg.
The company is now eyeing the newer markets of Syria and Iran for further growth.
The Norway-based paint manufacturer has a 70 per cent share of the Scandinavian market and its global ambitions are equally impressive.
Jotun extensive line of industrial surface coatings includes:
Fast-track epoxy systems
Present innovative solutions, under final site trials in the Middle East, include a fast-track epoxy paint system that will enable steel fabricators to apply a three-coat epoxy paint system in a single shift, enabling faster throughput of steel in fabrication yards.
Surface-tolerant epoxies in colour
Jotun has developed a Color Management System for the Jotamastic 87 Primer range to achieve greater hiding power. Jotamastic 87 can be used when overcoating problematic colours such as bright yellow and red. This will mean fewer topcoats are required, thereby offering a cost saving, time and money.
These two solutions were generated by listening to the requirements of fabrication yards that, in general, see painting as a potential bottleneck in the production process, due to excessive drying times of some paint systems.
Concrete protection
Jotun has several years of experience in concrete coatings. A particular system that offers excellent adhesion, protection and crack-bridging capability has been applied over more than 700,000 sq m of bridge structures alone in the UAE in the last three years. The system has fully-independent test data and is supported by Jotun’s Technical Supervision department to ensure a long lasting result.
Intumescent coatings
In 2002, the company purchased the UK-based Omnifire, which has over 15 years experience in intumescent coatings. These coatings swell when subjected to fire and insulate the steel to protect it against collapsing, thereby allowing the occupants of the building to escape. A fire rating of one to two hours is available.
Floor coatings
Jotun launched its range of floor coatings in the Middle East more than three years earlier and the sales of these products have steadily increased, claims the company. Innovative new products/systems have been developed for ongoing release in the near future.
After listening to the needs of leading civil engineering contractors, Jotun has developed a single-source solution strategy on industrial and commercial buildings by being able to offer protective, intumescent floor and decorative finishes to major civil projects currently under way in the region.
Jotun says it can offer a single-source solution to a wide range of industrial/oil/gas related and civil projects throughout the Middle East, offering innovative products by listening to the demands of its customers.
