AkzoNobel India, a subsidiary of the renowned Dutch firm AkzoNobel, has been present in the country for the last 60 years. It has currently three business lines – Decorative Paints, Performance Coating and Specialty Chemicals. While the Decorative Paints is the company’s B2C business led by the Dulux brand, its B2B Performance Coating and Specialty Chemicals divisions supply solutions across industries such as consumer electronics, power, aviation, shipping and leisure craft, construction, oil and gas, water and waste water, food and beverages, and so on and include well-known brands such as Sikkens, International and Interpon in its portfolio.
We caught up with Mr. Jayakumar Krishnaswamy, Managing Director, AkzoNobel India, to understand about the company’s B2B business in the country, what the future holds for the paints industry and how AkzoNobel plans to make the most of the growth potential that lies ahead.
Excerpts:
When did AkzoNobel enter the performance coating business in India? How has your journey been and what kind of solutions do you offer at present?
AkzoNobel performance coating business entered the Indian market in 1998 with Vehicle Refinish business and then further with global take-over of Courtaulds which allowed us to lead the Bangalore base coating business so as to offer speciality coatings for various segments. Today, we have leadership position in Vehicle refinish with “Sikkens” as the flagship brand and the legendry brand “Duco” in our portfolio. Our performance coating business is also known for its best-in-class, innovative, customer-centric solutions. Today, apart from our Decorative Paints & Specialty Chemicals business, we also participate in Protective, Powder, Metal, Marine, Speciality coating and Wood coatings.
Does India have any directive/norms or safety policy that the paint industry must follow, especially with regard to the commercial vehicle segment? Where do you place AkzoNobel products and solutions in this regard?
India does not have any specific coating legislation, apart from certain banned chemicals. However, the paint industry must use sustainable solutions and avoid lead, chromate or arsenic base pigments. We focus on aesthetics, high performance in terms of longevity, anti-colour fading, water proofing, faster drying and low volatile organic compounds (VOCs). All our products follow the Global HSE (Health, Safety and Environment) policy and we don’t compromise on our core value to offer sustainable solutions. Our products are of high quality and durability using less quantity of paint and energy consumption. We aim to be a carbon-neutral company by 2050.
What is your approach as far as the commercial vehicle segment goes? Who are the OEMs you supply directly to and how do the auto refinish market and its demands impact you?
In commercial vehicles, the bus segment is becoming much more organized based on the improved aesthetic and durability expectation. The OEMs now have set specification and monitor paint use per unit. Currently, we supply to major commercial vehicle OEMs like Eicher, Ashok Leyland and M&M along with their Tier-1 market vendors.
Auto refinish business is segmented as passenger car OEM and unorganized retail market. The market drivers and the need for both segments are different. However, both the segments are growing one with OEM Bodyshops expansion plan and also with adding Car park in India. Another key driver is the improved focus of waterborne refinish Basecoat from all key OEMs. We are totally geared to support growing customer needs and technical and training-related services.
How do you align yourself with the ‘Make in India’ mission? Kindly elaborate on your geographical presence across the country in terms of manufacturing plants, distributors, agents, etc.
We always believed in working closely with our customers and to bring the latest technology and innovation locally. Currently, we have six plants in India along with an RD&I centre for vehicle refinish, for decorative paints and a lab solutions for protective, marine, metal and powder. We recently inaugurated a manufacturing unit for speciality coatings in Noida and laid foundation for a powder coating plant in Mumbai. We have four automotive training centres and dealers and distributors available pan-India to cater to customer needs.
How is AkzoNobel different from other automotive paint suppliers and what, according to you, are the top three factors that have led to your success in India?
We are providing all the global solutions to cater to the local needs in India and driving presence in almost all the segments. We have a clear strategy for success by:
* Understanding the customer needs and extending optimal and sustainable solutions keeping in mind our core philosophy of creating everyday essentials to make people’s lives more livable and inspiring, with essential ingredients, essential protection and essential color.
* Offering best-in-class value proposition with defined benefits and innovative technologies, with hands-on technical support
* Investing in our people- our biggest asset.
Considering that the unorganized market takes away close to 35% of the total pie, how does that impact you and how is the organized sector tackling them?
Currently the unorganized segment contributes between nearly 35-40%. However, this segment is becoming competitive day by day. It is important to focus on customer awareness and quality differentiation going forward. The technologies are becoming smarter and customers are also becoming more aware of the quality and standards. Our expectation is to be the first choice for our customers and provide profitable business solutions.
Industry players expect good growth in business volume and rise in sales in the paint industry in the coming years. What prospects does AkzoNobel look forward to?
The Indian market is poised to grow due to a low per capita consumption of paint and a large number of first-time users. We are confident of our growth and we have taken steps to grow ahead of the market so as to gain market share. All of our businesses have reflected positive growth in the past in spite of the challenging environment, and now when the industry outlook is looking good, our ambition is to grow ahead of the market.