AS a quality-focused company that stakes claim to being the trendsetter in the paints sector, Sigma Paints Saudi Arabia asserts that “green” is the only way to go and is now focusing on its goal of getting the market to replace solvent-based paints with water-based ones.

The Dammam-based company believes that pursuing a green path of environment-friendly paints is not a matter of choice or plan, it is a must, according to Mark Van Diemen, managing director of Sigma Paints Saudi Arabia. Van Diemen, who has headed Sigma’s Middle East operation since 2005, says the company’s overall goals have become clearer. Innovation, customer dedication and durable protection are the objectives that each member of the company is expected to remain committed to. Towards this end, Sigma has been focusing on promoting quality products that are environment-friendly, while leading the way towards green thinking.

In its duty to the environment, the company recently launched Sigma Ecoplus, a zero-VOC (volatile organic compounds) product. “No other paint company,” Van Diemen says, “can claim their products to be completely solvent free. Even their water-based paints have some amount of solvents in them. But Ecoplus is unique in the Middle East market, and we are the first to launch such a product.”

Sigma products are eco-labelled, meaning that they have been extensively tested by an independent institute in Europe. The ‘Eco Protection’ label indicates that all the products bearing the logo are water-based, lead-free and contain low amounts of VOCs (volatile organic compounds).

Van Diemen admits that in a market that is extremely price-sensitive, pushing quality and environment-friendly products is a “long struggle”.

“There is still a big solvent-based market out there, and our aim is to replace these solvent-based products with water-based ones,” he says. “It is part of our product development programme. But the important part is to talk to the market and create awareness that water-based paints are as good as solvent-based ones.”

Sigma aspires to be a leader in the quality paints sector, even though this segment does not currently enjoy the largest share of the market.

He explains: “Only 20 per cent of the paints in the market are ‘A’ brands, meaning quality. The rest are B and C brands, offering low quality paints. Hence, we certainly aren’t aiming to be market leaders in terms of volume, but we already are a leader in terms of quality.”

Sigma is also a trendsetter with other paint manufacturers now imitating its concepts and the market recognising it as a quality and innovative paint company. “Sigma is about quality, durability, reliability and taking care of the environment and people. So we focus on the A brand segment,” he adds.

Van Diemen stresses the need to educate the market that cheap paint can prove to be more expensive in the long run. “If you use cheap paint, you would need to repaint your home after one or two years – which means additional paint and labour costs. On the other hand, if you use durable paint, it may seem expensive in the drum. But if you consider the 10-year maintenance interval, then it turns out cheaper.”

And that’s the concept with all the products Sigma has launched. The Sigma Guardian Nano exterior paint with nano-technology is an example. It is extremely durable and has high gloss retention, colour retention, and anti-dust properties.
To maintain its leadership position in the quality paints segment, Sigma is well aware of the vital role played by its human resources and hence a significant part of Sigma’s investment goes into human development. “You can change your machine by buying a new one, but it takes three to four years to replace one of your key staff with somebody with the same qualities because the new staff needs to be trained in the way we think the market should be developed,” Van Diemen points out.

Sigma also regularly organises training for applicators, painters, and other stakeholders on the technology of a paint, what is harmful, how to apply it and to get the best results. About 2,000 to 3,000 people attend such sessions a year.
Furthermore, to reinforce its leadership role in the country, he says the distribution concept in Saudi Arabia needs to be fine-tuned – and this is an area he intends to focus on in the next one to one-and-a-half year.

Sigma Paint Saudi Arabia is a subsidiary of PPG, which is the second largest paint company in the world with a total turnover of $11.5-billion turnover. All of Sigma products are developed by PPG research and development (R&D) department.

“But we are also on the look out for technologies that are suitable for the Middle East,” says Van Diemen.
Sigma has an R&D laboratory in Dammam, which mainly tests the technology developed by PPG in the local environment and adapts products to suit the region.

Sigma Paints Saudi Arabia has so far remained unscathed by the recession and continued to press ahead with its growth strategy. “We have doubled production capacity in our factories. Our fleet has also almost doubled,” the managing director says.

With decorative paints dominating the paints and coatings market in the Middle East, the bulk of Sigma’s business in the Middle East comes from that segment. And although Sigma has seen a dramatic increase in its market share of protective and marine coatings over the last four to five years, decorative paints will continue to be its major source of revenue for many years to come, especially given the huge housing projects expected to be built in over the next decade.
The regional paint market, says Van Diemen, can be categorised as the new-build and the maintenance market. The former, which includes new projects such as the big financial and economic cities and housing developments, will be buoyant for the next five to six years.

However, the maintenance market offers long-term prospects, he says.