ASIAN PAINTS

Nath Balakrishnan

`The paint industry in India still has a lot to do to promote usage, which by itself is
a huge opportunity.'

Asian Paints is a household name in the domestic paints industry. Now, with
operations in 23 countries across the world, its business is acquiring a global
dimension. In a freewheeling interview with Business Line, Mr Ashwin Dani,
Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of Asian Paints (AP) shares his outlook on
the company's prospects, how various categories within the paints segment fared,
the role of marketing initiatives, such as the installation of tinting machines, and,
finally, about AP's acquisition-led expansion strategy. Mr Dani's views on
developments on the acquisition front will be published next week.
Demand for paints comes from two broad categories:

 Decoratives:

 . Decorative paint's market size stands at around Rs 32.5 Bn. Asian paints is
this market leader in this segment

 Under this segment it offers Painting Guide, Painting Solution, Paint

Calculator and Paint Selector as value added decorative service.
 

 Industrial:

Asian Paints offers 4 types of industrial coatings such as :

 Protective Coatings - protects steel and concrete structures from the

corrosive action of harsh climates, pollution, sea spray, acids, oils and solvents.

 Road Markings – are used as road markers for lane as indicator of lane
separation and also as safety markers. They include ordinary road marking
paint, hot applied retro-reflective thermoplastic material and retro-reflective
water borne paints.
 Powder Coatings – is used to enhance the performance of Industrial paints.
 Floor Coatings – such paints protects the floor surface and prevents crack
formation, insect nest formation, water seepage etc
