Jotun Paints is currently celebrating a proud moment in its history. The company, which boasts a leadership position in the paints market in the region, is marking 25 years of its operation in Dubai.

To reemphasise its commitment to the market, Jotun has recently moved its Decorative Paints headquarters (excluding Scandinavia) to Dubai.

"It makes sense to move towards the main market. The Middle East is the biggest market for Jotun in the decorative paints segment," says Erik Aaberg, vice-president decorative paints and managing director Jotun UAE.

Dubai also houses the company's regional laboratory, which is one of the largest and the best within the Jotun group.

"We have the facility to develop and improve products for the Middle East market here," says Aaberg.

"Dubai is a very practical place, communication is very easy, it is a dynamic market and a lot of the product development we do here can be applied with some modifications in other markets," he says.

Jotun claims to be the first international paint manufacturing company to have been established in Dubai and this market still remains its stronghold. "We are very professional in our approach and have been able to develop our market share consistently," he says.

Jotun Paints last year increased its stockholding in Jotun UAE to 41.5 per cent, doubling its holding. The company, however, was managing the operation since the beginning.

"We are working very well with our local partners. It is very important to have good partners for the development of business and a successful operation," says Aaberg.

Apart from decorative paints, Jotun UAE also deals with marine and protective coatings. It is claimed to have the largest share of marine paints market in the UAE.

"Our operation here is one of the most efficient compared to other centres. We have extremely efficient production systems and the productivity levels are very high. The lead times are much lower here compared to Europe. Other centres are learning from our Dubai experience," says Aaberg.

The Abu Dhabi unit also comes under the management of Jotun UAE. It is a modern plant and serves a separate local market.

Jotun achieved an all-time record production last year and hopes to continue good growth this year.

Aaberg credits the company's In-shop multi-colour tinting system for the excellent growth. This is a revolutionary concept, which has changed the way people select their paint.

"The customer can shoot a picture of his villa, bring it to our In-shop centre and play with colours on the system. He can actually paint and choose what he wants on the system," says Aaberg. "These shops are very different from ordinary paint shops. They have display materials to the customers to see and they can have the colours made at the shop," he says.

Jotun has so far installed about 150 tinting systems in the Middle East. "We have our own servicing technicians and we support the whole system," says Aaberg. "He can use different tools to create the colours of his choice. We are the leader in this kind of system. We have a technological advantage because the software is developed by us.''

"The concept is very interesting because we draw the customer into the shop, create an atmosphere for him to choose the colours. From the point he chooses the colour, he gets what he wants, right in front of his eyes," says Venkat K, product manager for Jotun Paints.

"If he has a colour, on paper or cloth, the system will analyse the colour exactly and the tinting machine will mix it instantly."

Jotun's laboratory in Dubai is engaged in product development all the time. It is planning to introduce a concrete protection system soon. This system will be launched in Dubai for the first time in the world.

The company is also trying to produce more environmentally-friendly products both in the decorative and protective coatings, says Aaberg.

Jotun's recently introduced Fenomastic Gold has been very successful in the market, says Aaberg.

On market expansion, Aaberg says: "We are quite well covered in the Gulf with many plants in GCC countries. We are looking at export markets such as Syria and Yemen. Iran is also an interesting market," says Aaberg.

Speaking on the fake paints menace, Venkat says Jotun is not much affected by this though there are cases where people have used low-quality paints instead of the specified Jotun.

"Because of the highly competitive nature of the market, applicators are taking jobs at very thin margins and then to maintain their costs, they get substandard products and put them in Jotun drums at the site. However, we have not seen wholesale infringement of the brand as such," he explains.

Jotun inspectors also visit major project sites if the company's products are specified on them and conduct inspections for quality control and application systems.

The multi-colour tinting system also ensures genuine products reaches the consumers.

On the market trends, Aaberg says the company has had very good sales performance during the recent period. "We have not really felt the recession. Dubai is still at a very high activity level," he says.