LARGE-scale public sector construction projects in Saudi Arabia will be a key growth driver this year and beyond for Hempel Paints in the Middle East, a top company executive says.

“The Saudi market is the largest in the region and continues to be very lucrative for Hempel,” says Karsten Pedersen, group vice-president and area director, Hempel Middle East (West).

The established regional market leader for marine and protective coatings, Hempel has been serving Saudi Arabia with distinction since 1973. Today, in addition to a facility in Dammam manufacturing the company’s renowned marine and protective coatings and decorative paints, Hempel has a network of more than 90 retail outlets across the kingdom.

“The recent global financial downturn had no impact on our Saudi business levels. On the contrary, the company has achieved double-digit turnover and sales growth in each of the last three years. We remain very optimistic about prospects for 2011 too,” he emphasises.

The Saudi government’s multi-billion-dollar infrastructure spending programme, which will include new housing projects across the country, is likely to drive strong demand for decorative paints in particular, explains Moataz Kamel, regional marketing manager, Hempel Paints Middle East (West).

“Hempel’s decorative paints market share is smaller than we believe it should be, so in 2011 we are intensifying efforts in this key segment,” he says, pointing out that this strategy would not be at the expense of Hempel’s market-leading marine paints and protective coatings products.

Pedersen ... optimistic.

Hempel enhanced its reputation in the project sector in Saudi Arabia in 2010, delivering excellence on several prestigious schemes.

The company supplied its Contex anti-carbonation concrete protection coatings and epoxy paints for concrete and steel for Phase One of the first monorail in the holy city of Makkah.

“Hempel is immensely proud to serve this nationally-important project, for which Hempel emerged as the best paint solution for both consultant and contractor on the project. As such, we will be supplying subsequent phases of the project,” says Pedersen.

Meanwhile, for Dar Al Arkan Real Estate’s Al Qasr mixed-use residential and commercial project in Riyadh, Hempel supplied more than 250 villas and most of the residential buildings in addition to associated facilities (such as mosques and a shopping mall) in 2010.

Hempel also stepped up its service to the aviation sector in Saudi Arabia in 2010, obtaining approval from the General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) to supply, for the first time in the kingdom, an innovative airfield marking paint to more than 20 airfields.

The product, which features superior surface adhesion and fast-drying properties, is specially designed for high-humidity environments. It can be applied on different substrates (for example, bituminous/asphalt or concrete surfaces), boasts high abrasion resistance and complies with Federal specifications, says Hempel.

With innovation currently a watchword, Hempel Paints has lined up new products, activities, colour trends and a soon-to-be-launched range of green solutions that will help drive its growth further this year.

Among the first new products to be launched will be Contex Thermoguard, an environment-friendly coating which is the first product developed in Hempel’s state-of-the-art research and development (R&D) facility in Bahrain.

“Contex Thermoguard is a very efficient, energy-saving, highly durable and long-lasting coating,” says Pedersen.

The coating is the first of a range of products that Hempel intends to launch, in line with its commitment towards the environment. Based on this objective, Hempel has started developing sustainable paints aimed at helping engineers and architects achieve ‘green-certified’ buildings, according to Pedersen.

Elaborating on the composition of Contex Thermoguard that gives it far-reaching advantages, he says: “It is produced from an environment-friendly water-borne 100 per cent pure acrylic resin system incorporating vacuumed microspheres that act as sealed cells. The entire mastic acts as a thermally-efficient blanket covering the structure.

“The unique chemistry of Contex Thermoguard allows the microspheres to stay in fluid suspension until applied, after which they form a seamless, flexible heat-blocking micro-structure that fights heat gain or loss.

“Contex Thermoguard offers a soft silk finish with high dirt pick-up resistance, thus saving water that would be used to clean buildings. It has exceptional masking abilities and touch-up characteristics, minimising paint consumption. The product dries quickly with a low odour due to its low volatile organic compounds (VOCs), keeping air pollution at the lowest acceptable limits. It also has low flame spread properties, allowing more time to act if a fire breaks out, limiting damage to property and risk to lives,” says Pedersen.

“This apart, Contex Thermoguard can withstand a number of harsh chemicals to keep the building protected from every attack possible. Also, being highly durable and long lasting, the paint ensures longer maintenance intervals, thus saving cost, time, labour and, most importantly, keeping the air free from pollution,” he adds.

In addition to all these properties, the product still performs its essential aesthetic role as a paint and comes in white as well as a range of pastel shades.

“Contex Thermoguard has been tested successfully in accordance with international standards at third-party laboratories, confirming its outstanding properties and quality. This is to assure customers that our products are not only environment-friendly but also high in performance,” Pedersen points out.

Kamel says that Contex Thermoguard helps protect buildings and reduce power consumption.

“The high concentration of insulating microspheres lowers temperatures within the building by 5 deg C in the Gulf region, thus reducing the power consumed by air-conditioning units,” he explains.

“I believe there is an urgent need to save electricity in the Middle East, and I am sure Contex Thermoguard will go a long way in meeting these requirements,” he insists.

Vouching for the high performance of the company’s products, Kamel adds: “Hempel Paints is keen to test every product developed by our R&D laboratories in internationally-recognised third-party laboratories. Our innovative products never leave our laboratories without our full satisfaction that the products have all the properties we desire them to have and that they are performing to plan.”

Hempel Paints uses reputed third-party laboratories such as Taylor Woodrow, Atlas of the US, 3M Laboratory of France, and Dubai Central Laboratory of the UAE to test products.

Contex Thermoguard is one of several products that Hempel Paints plans to deliver to the market soon, says Ahmed Abdul Aziz, regional sales director, Hempel Paints Middle East (West).

Another is the Fusions Prestige range, which serves in particular the special effects and aesthetic-type product segment.
“It is the expression of a new idea which translates high technological contents in a new language of colours and effects,” claims Aziz. “Fusions Prestige gives walls the depth and beauty that stimulates the feeling of luxury and the fine taste of art.”

To support Hempel’s new product launches, a series of seminars will be held this month and next in the kingdom for engineers, architects and consultants. They will be held in Dammam (May 16), Riyadh (May 17), Jeddah (May 23) and Makkah (June 6) and are, the company says, in line with Hempel’s commitment to offering customers a complete solution – high quality, competitively-priced product supported by the best after-sales and technical teams of any company in the region.

In preparation for the many mega projects coming up in Saudi Arabia, Hempel has also completed the publication of a dossier which contains important non-technical information about the company, including quality assurance certificates, project references and key personnel information. This is for the benefit of governments, consultants and architects involved in project pre-qualification procedures in Hempel’s Middle East (West) region, which covers Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Syria, Egypt and Iraq.

“The document showcases Hempel’s competitive strengths, from innovative products to R&D capabilities, QC/QA (quality control/quality assurance) and production facilities,” says Pedersen.

A technical folder containing paint product details is also now being drafted.

Further ahead, Hempel is seeking to address growing customer demand for its world-class products in the Western Region of Saudi Arabia by investing in a new manufacturing facility in Jeddah, which is expected to be operational in late 2012.

“The Western Region is currently the fastest-growing part of Hempel’s Middle East (West) geographical area, and the new Jeddah plant will meet rapidly rising local demand and remove the cost and time needed to transport products from our Dammam plant,” says Pedersen.

The Jeddah facility will manufacture Hempel’s full range of marine and protective coatings and decorative paints, and will also support the company’s regional retail expansion plans by supplying products to the North African market, in particular to Egypt, where Hempel has opened 18 new retail shops in the last year. The company plans to double the number of retail outlets in the region from 150 at present.

“The new facility and export strategy are part of a five-year plan to further diversify the Hempel brand in the region,” Pedersen concludes.