The paints industry in Saudi Arabia is quite a challenging one, says Mark van Diemen, managing director Middle East at Sigma Paints.
“The market is very much price-conscious and still rather unripe in its understanding and knowledge of paints and paint systems,” Diemen told Khalil Hanware of Arab News in an exclusive interview in Jeddah.
“We are continuously involved in an education process that attempts to explain the differences in quality and to educate users of paints,” he added.
Sigma Paints was founded in Dammam in 1981 by a consortium of eminent Saudi businessmen in cooperation with SigmaKalon. Please tell us about its 32-year journey in Saudi Arabia.
In 1981, four Saudi businessmen, in cooperation with SigmaKalon, founded Sigma Paints in Dammam. Over the years, the company has grown to become a leading force in the decorative, marine, protective and packaging market segments in the Middle East. The paints and the coatings market was shaken in January 2008 when American giant PPG Industries, a global supplier of coatings, chemicals, specialty materials, glass and fiber glass, announced the acquisition of Dutch-based SigmaKalon Group, the second largest coatings manufacturer in Europe. The completion of this acquisition marked the beginning of a new and exciting era for the continuous efforts of both companies in building and enhancing their business and leadership across the globe. Before the acquisition, SigmaKalon was already a multimillion company with a lot of knowledge in its own field. However, being acquired by PPG has further strengthened our position in the Middle East region, by enhancing our existing technological abilities and enabling us to provide the highest quality of products and standards of service.” By combining their efforts, the two groups have become forces to be reckoned with, changing the paints and coatings market landscape and forcing other giants of the industry to make some immediate adjustments in order to remain competitive.
What is the standing of Sigma Paints in the paints market?
Striving for innovative and high-quality products has allowed Sigma Paints Saudi Arabia to become a trustworthy supplier for some of the Middle East’s most important projects. To mention a few, the company was recently involved in painting the King Abdul Aziz Endowment Projects (KAAEP); it worked on a major project in Qatar, where nanotechnology-based paints were applied, it is currently engaged on an ongoing project in Abu Dhabi, which is worth SR 17 million and is now dealing with the maintenance of buried pipelines by applying an all new coating system that does not require digging activity.
How is the paints market in Saudi Arabia in general and what is Sigma Paints’ market share?
Sigma Paints Saudi Arabia has become a reference point for the paints and coating sector in the Middle East. Through its continuous investments targeted to expansion and innovation, it seems like this business can only move forward toward an even brighter future.
How has Sigma Paints expanded globally?
We supply across all GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries and we also cover parts of North Africa. We can provide the best solutions in paints and coatings according to the customer’s needs. However, most of our turnover is produced by the decorative paints unit. Especially developed to suit both the local environment and local tastes, the company’s range of decorative paints, available in an extensive variety of colors, is wide enough to cover almost all uses, from wood to aluminum, from steel to concrete. Sigma Paints Middle East has offices in Saudi Arabia (Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam), Qatar, the UAE, Oman, Yemen, Kuwait, Bahrain and Egypt. Sigma Paints has 3 factories — 2 in Eastern Province KSA and one in Egypt.
What are the most popular products of Sigma Paints?
The introduction of the Nano metric Painting System, or NPS technology, confirmed once again that Sigma Paints was a world pioneer in its sector. The word nanotechnology is usually associated with the development of high performance electronic devices, such as computers or mobile phones. However we are very proud that we have managed to use this kind of technology within the paint industry. The most unique quality of the Sigma Guardian Nano Paint is its unique anti-dust and sand characteristics. This is a distinctive product feature that is vital in the prevalent extreme weather conditions in the Middle East. The meteoric power of nanotechnology provides a universal exterior protection and surface radiance for all homes, properties and buildings in the GCC. Other innovative products launched recently by the company include an anti-bacterial exterior paint as well as some high-end finishes. As the new green building regulations being implemented across the Gulf countries encourage owners and developers to accelerate the adoption of eco-friendly painting and coating solutions’ pioneering company.
On customer service, what are your areas of focus?
For us customer is king. We continuously train our staff as well as our dealer staff to be very sensitive to the needs of our customers. We have a fully integrated system of checks and balances that insures that our customers get the best experience when he visits one of our retail outlets. In addition, we have implemented specific solutions that cater to customer needs. An example would be Sigmatint, which is a complete color solution that attempts to provide all the tools as well as necessary training in order for us to properly satisfy our customer’s specific color requirements.
We also continuously provide onsite technical services as well as technical training programs that help our customers make the most use of the innovative products that we launch.
What role does Sigma Paints play in CSR?
We are intent on growing our business by making a difference wherever our business touches our community and our community touches our business. We are committed to enhancing people’s lives, economically empowering people — in collaboration with critical partners from civil society and government. We recognize that the sustainability of our business depends on the health of the communities we serve. We also know that we won’t reach our vision without embedding sustainability into our business to drive efficiency and effectiveness.
What challenges do you face in the Saudi paints market?
The market is very much price conscious and still rather unripe in its understanding and knowledge of paints and paint systems. We are continuously involved in an education process that attempts to explain the differences in quality and to educate users on the difference between the relative higher cost of a Sigma Paints drum versus the lower cost of Sigma Paints when it comes to spread ability and durability that creates a lower price per square meter cost.
What is your strategy for this year. Do you have any innovative products lined for this year?
We always have innovative products in the pipeline as innovation is one of our core values that guide everything we do. Our innovation also extends to our concepts that we introduce such as Sigmatint and Sigmacare and to our distribution network.
Your goal is to remain the market leader and the reference in paints. How close or far you are in achieving this goal?
Since its establishment Sigma Paints Saudi Arabia has always invested in innovative ideas, offering some of the most pioneering paint solutions. What sets us apart from the rest is our constant search for ground-breaking quality products and in the past few years we have launched some very revolutionary concepts and novelties within the Middle Eastern market.
Do you have any green products for the Saudi markets?
Sigma launched an unprecedented zero VOC paint system. VOCs are chemicals that readily vaporize at room temperature. Their molecular structures include a very wide range of individual substances, such as hydrocarbons, halocarbons and oxygenates, which are very harmful to the environment and human health. Our new Sigmacryl Ecoplus Zero VOC product range consists of water-based products, which clean paints and do not contain any harmful substances for human beings. This latest product confirms yet again that commitment to environmental protection of Sigma Paints and its constant search for sustainable and green products.
How do product distribution networks operate in Saudi Arabia?
We continue to press ahead with our plans to upgrade our distribution network in the Middle East. This falls within our strategy of getting closer to our customers and meeting the demand for innovation and value added services. We are currently in the midst of revamping our retail network, which includes introducing a new shop concept that is unique in the Kingdom in our Sigma Shops as well as opening of 2 Service Centers — a new concept in the Middle East that offers professionals all that they need under one roof and a design shop, which caters to the needs of families in the region.
