Coatings World - September 2011

AkzoNobel India forays
into the mass market

AkzoNobel, the global leader for paints and coatings and the maker of Dulux paints, announced its entry into the mass market for the first time with the launch of ICI Magik.

“In India, our decorative coatings
business will continue to leverage the
strength of both its brands, Dulux and
ICI,” said Amit Jain, managing director,
Akzo Nobel India Limited. “While prod-
ucts from the Dulux cluster will be in the
premium and mid-tier segments, those
from the ICI cluster will specifically be fo-
cused on the value segment.”
A unique product which promises to
revolutionize the mass market for paints in
India, ICI Magik is an acrylic paint, which
offers consumers benefits in the economy
category with its smooth finish, exhaustive
shade range offering a palette of 1,500 dis-
tinctive shades and enhanced brushability.
Also a first for its category, ICI Magik has
low VOC and low odor content.

“The decorative category in India is
complex, with a multitude of consumer
needs,” said Jain. “We are segmenting our
brands to leverage the opportunity. With the
launch of ICI Magik in India, for the first
time there is a superior value proposition in
the mass market distemper segment.”
Supported by a comprehensive market-
ing plan, AkzoNobel India is aggressively
promoting ICI Magik by rolling it out pan-
India. To educate the primary users about
the new product, AkzoNobel India plans to
conduct painter carnivals called “Magik
Melas” where the painters and contractors
will get to experience ICI Magik through
product trials. Product information will be
shared and introductory offers would be
announced as part of the Mela.

raise a factory for the production of paints and coatings. The factory expects annual production output of 15 million liters of paint and 3,000 tons of powder coatings.

“Local production is needed to sustain the sales growth and to fully meet the demands of our Russian customers,” said vice president of Jotun, Svein Stolpestad.

Jotun said that if the project goes well,
then the production capacities will be
doubled. Jotun Paints is the first resident
in the industrial area of the new park
complex located approximately 20 kilo-
meters south east of St. Petersburgh.

Index to Companies

This index gives the starting page for a department or feature with a signifi-
cant reference to a manufacturer of paint, coatings, adhesives and sealants.
Subsidiaries are indexed under their own names.

Jotun takes root in Leningrad region

Norwegian paint major Jotun AS signed a land sales contract through its Russian daughter—OOO Jotun Paints—for a nine hectare land plot in Fyodorovskoye industrial park.