Nippon Paint draws a rosy future
Nipsea Group, the largest paints and coatings manufacturer in Asia by sales revenue, will set up a new plant in western China and automate production at most of its 41 factories across the country in the long-run to maintain robust growth, said a top company official.
Eric Chung, president of Nippon Paint China — the local branch of Singapore-based Nipsea Group — said though the company currently has a plant in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, it will build another one in Qionglai in the same province, to meet the growing demand for furniture paints in western China.
Nippon Paint said in October that it would open a new digital factory in Xianning, Hubei province, to cater to markets in Central China. It has an emulsion production capacity of 150,000 metric tons every year in the first phase and plans to double it in the second phase.
Many of these opportunities come from Chinese consumers’ surging demand to buy new apartments and repaint their previous homes, and requirements for quality paint products to ensure their health, as well as boosts from growth momentum such as the country’s universal second-child policy, higher disposable income, fast urbanization pace and smart city projects.
“We will continue to transform ourselves from a product supplier into a service provider, offering a broad range of painting products to meet consumers’ diverse decoration and painting demands, including desired colors, texture and brushing effects,” he said.
Supported by over 8,500 employees and 2,035 sales points throughout China, Nippon Paint China gained 17.3 billion yuan ($2.5 billion) in sales revenue from the country by the end of 2017.