The Hindu Business Line : Paint industry optimistic of growth

Chennai, Feb. 6 The paint industry is optimistic on growth, particularly in the residential real estate segment, where the rural markets are opening up.

Technology is also evolving with the times and the industry is steadily shifting to environment-friendly, water-based paints and moving away from solvent-based products, according to representatives of the Indian Paints Association.

Addressing a press conference, ahead of the 24th Indian Paint Conference today, Mr Ashwin Dani, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Asian Paints, said that demand for paints is ‘largely driven by the feel good factor’ so some slowdown may be expected, but not much. The paint market in the residential segment has traditionally grown at about one-and-a-half times the GDP. So, the industry has no major cause for concern. The market for architectural paints dominates the industry and a major portion, about three-fourths, is demand for repainting old houses and the balance for new buildings, where there could be some slowdown.

The industrial and automotive segments could be hit but these are specialised areas where most Indian players do not have a major presence, he said.

Mr D. Hariharaputhran, the conference convenor and President, Apollo Paints, said that recent estimates by the industry had indicated that the market for paints, including architectural, industrial, automotive, marine and special applications, is about Rs 16,000 crore. The companies that cater to this market range from a handful of national players to over 2,500 small-scale units.

Mr N.K. Bhatia, Chairman and Managing Director, Premium Coatings & Chemicals Pvt Ltd, said the association has tried to gather industry statistics through a study by AC Nielsen. The indications are that in 2007-08, the market was about Rs 16,000 crore with the handful of national players catering to nearly 50 per cent of the market; 15 per cent is shared among 8-10 medium players; and the rest of the business is shared among 2,500 small-scale units.

A strong trend driven by environmental concerns is the emergence of water-based paints in recent years. They account for about 50 per cent of the market and their share is set to increase, he said.

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