Calcutta, Sept 29: Berger Paints is examining overseas manufacturing facilities in Africa in order to expand its area of operations. The final shape of the company's expansion plan will emerge only after a feasibility study is conducted and the cost logistics are worked out, according to chairman Kuldip Singh Dhingra.He said the company is eyeing the greenfield option as a likely choice rather than a takeover option in any of the African countries.
Highlighting the increasing competition in the domestic paint market what with the multinationals setting up shop in the country, the chairman said the industrial paint segment, which has a much lower market share than that of the decoratives segment, is gaining prominence gradually. The company's joint venture in the field of coil coatings is a promising area, he felt.
"With the merger of Rajdoot Paints with Berger, the existing joint venture -- Rajdoot-Becker Indsutrifarg -- will soon be known as Berger-Becker Indsutrifarg, with the Swedish company havingthe majority stake in the venture," Dhingra said.
Earlier, speaking at the company's 75th annual general meeting (AGM) in Calcutta, the chairman said the company would like to strengthen and improve its market share in various segments of the paint market.
"Our continuous focus has been to increase the depth of our decorative product range and improve our share where the market penetration is low."
The company's new technical alliance with Nippon Paint Co Japan is expected to give a thrust to the company's OEM segment. Incidentally, Berger already has a technical alliance with Herberts GmbH of Germany in the automotive paint category.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.