Jotun Abu Dhabi states it has taken giant strides in the fast lane of growth over the past few years.
One of the paint and powder coating 'majors' in the world, the success story of the Norway-based company in catering to the markets for decorative paints and corrosion protection coatings for the oil industry has been the result of a systematic drive to structure its business across the board, says Lars Kjoele, general manager of the Abu Dhabi-based company.
"This has included training programmes for the sales team to enable them to work analytically and systematically so as to focus on what is important, such as quality ISO 9001 standards," he adds.
Tracing the growth of the company in the UAE, Kjoele says: "When Jotun first focused on Dubai in 1974, it was done primarily to build a marine paint factory. This was associated with plans in the emirate for building a shipyard and its strategic location as a trading port where tankers spent considerable time anchored off the coast.
"Being the first producer in the country, the company has a solid footing and a major share of the market. With production peaking and operations almost round the clock, the company ventured to expand. That saw the birth of Jotun Abu Dhabi in 1994.
"With its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in the industrial suburb of Musaffah and its 'close-to-the-customer' policy, Jotun Abu Dhabi has served with distinction the construction, industrial and marine sectors."
The company has recently been involved with the prestigious Abu Dhabi Mall and Marina Mall.
Abu Dhabi Mall - a phase of the Abu Dhabi Trade Centre project - is one of the landmark projects in the emirate constructed on a prime location.
Phase One of the project consists of three-level basement car-parking, mezzanine and three levels of retail outlets.
Jotun was involved with interior painting covering an area of 250,000 sq m. Quality products were used including Fenomastic, Gardex and Pilot. Various colours have been selected from its 'Multicolor' concept. Special techniques, which have used Jotun's product 'Lady Glaze' to advantage, have been applied on the columns to resemble the adjacent marble.
The project was executed under Jotun's direct technical support and services. Painting was done by specialised paint applicators.
The project is owned by Shaikh Suroor bin Mohammed Al Nahyan. Cansult was the consultant and Six Construct Campenon Bernard JV, the main contractor on the project.
For the Marina Mall, Jotun was involved with painting covering 75,000 sq m of internal and 4,000 sq m of external areas. Products used for this project included Fenomastic and Epoxy Texotile for interiors and 100 per cent pure acrylic system for exteriors.
Baynunah Tower, Adma-Opco headquarters, Armed Forces Officers Club, Meridien Hotel, and headquarters for Adco, NDC, Adnoc FOD, Zadco-Gasco and Etisalat are some of the prestigious projects in Abu Dhabi for Jotun's premium quality range of architectural coatings.
Given Abu Dhabi's position as a major producer of oil and gas, Jotun Abu Dhabi is also the approved supplier of protective coatings for the marine industry and onshore and offshore oil and gas sector.
Recent years have seen the company supply the majority of anti-corrosive coatings for the third LNG train for Adgas (Das Island) and the Onshore Gas Development Project for Adnoc (Habshan).
"Such has been the track record, blazing new trails, that in an incredibly short span of time Jotun Abu Dhabi has earned the most-coveted Diamond category of the prestigious Shaikh Khalifa Industry Award, instituted by the General Industry Corporation (GIC), with the objective of promoting the industrial sector's role in the development of the national economy," says Kjoele.
"A visit to the Jotun factory is sure to impress anyone on account of its emphasis on health, environment and security. Most of the production process is closed, including the tapping, reducing the emission of solvents to a minimum.
"We supply to major customers who use very advanced coatings, zinc-rich primers, two-component epoxy coatings.
''We also supply large quantities of Baltoflake and Chemflake, which rank among the best products in the world for corrosion protection in difficult conditions and are extremely demanding to produce and apply. These types of products require Jotun to have its own technically-trained advisors on site the whole time the coatings are applied.
"It comes as no surprise that Jotun Abu Dhabi can lay claim to 40 per cent share of the total Abu Dhabi market," the general manager adds.
The company's revolutionary colour tinting system, Jotun Multicolor, is changing the face of paint retailing around the world, Kjoele states.
"Offered in excess of 16,000 colours, Jotun Multicolor's state-of-the-art computer will match any colour one chooses and make the paint within minutes. Paint for both exteriors and interiors can be tinted at the touch of a button. Jotun Multicolor guarantees premium quality and is backed by Jotun's reputation for excellent customer service and colour selection assistance," he says.