Gulf Construction Online - Berger launches major marketing drive

UAE Focus

Berger launches major marketing drive

01 July 2004

Berger Paints has announced aggressive plans for the immediate future, which includes the launch of several products and marketing initiatives that are fine-tuned for the UAE market.

As a first step, Berger Paints has re-launched its corporate image in the UAE, under the campaign ‘Painting the world since 1760’. Berger is cashing on the enormous history of the company, as its name is a classic testimony to durable customer satisfaction, says Suresh Mohandas CEO of Berger’s operations in the Middle East.
“The construction sector is facing the greatest challenge now. We have the most daring and ambitious projects on one hand and the constant cost escalation on the other. The industry is reaching out for all the discipline and management skills it can muster to deliver the goods. There is the realisation that shortcuts only escalate costs in the long run. Dubai, the dream city, is a testimony to the fact that innovative thinking takes you were cost reduction can’t,” he says.
“Keeping the prestige factor in mind, it is important that paint companies offer a choice in technology and quality terms and not just focus on the single dimension of low prices,” Mohandas emphasizes.
“The company has assiduously maintained quality as the bedrock on which all Berger growth strategies have been built. We are growing satisfactorily in all segments and are making sure that the customer sees Berger products as the best value for money,” he points out.
In the Middle East, Berger has two factories – one in the UAE and the other in Bahrain. The UAE factory in Al Quoz Industrial Estate is a state-of-the-art plant built in 1995 when the company shifted from Sharjah to Dubai. These factories currently cater to the decorative and industrial segments of the local market.
Berger’s UAE operation offers the entire gamut of coatings, extending from architectural to protective coatings.
“Our range of protective coatings is suitable for most complex surfaces and environments – be it petrochemical and gas plants, oil rigs and offshore platforms, storage tanks and pipelines, power stations and water works, bridges and tunnels, airport hangars and shipping terminals, transmission towers and effluent treatment plants,” says Mohandas. “Berger’s products are used extensively for protecting and enhancing the durability of these assets.”
Some of the prestigious landmarks protected and decorated with Berger Paints include the Dubai Marina, Dubai Media City, BurJuman Centre, and the Shangri-La Residence.
“Apart from catering to the needs of local market, Berger also exports its products to the markets of the CIS countries, North Africa, and East Africa, providing clients decorative and protective solutions at their doorsteps,” he adds.
Berger’s products and coating systems have been tested and certified by a wide array of international accrediting agencies including: National Association of Testing Authorities and Taywood Engineering (both in Australia), Lloyds Register and Water Quality Centre (both in the UK).
Established in 1760, Berger Paints is one of the oldest names in the paints and coatings industry. Over the years, the company has grown into a worldwide phenomenon, leading the industry by example, according to Mohandas.
“From its humble beginnings the company has embarked on a path of innovation and growth. In 1994, all the Berger units were brought under the single umbrella of the holding company ‘Berger International Limited’ (BIL) with headquarters in Singapore. Now, BIL has manufacturing facilities in 11 countries spread over regions as diverse as Middle East, South East Asia and the Caribbean,” he adds.