November 25, 2015

Muscat: Oman's largest paint factory, set up by Berger Paints in Sohar, will be officially inaugurated in December, said P K Raj, general manager, Asian Paints (Middle East).

Speaking to the Times of Oman, Raj said the factory is the second plant of Berger Paints in Oman, which forayed into the Sultanate in 2000 as part of a joint venture between the Al Hassan Group and Asian Paints Limited.

"The trial runs are already on. Trial productions are there, and we are kind of complete in terms of our production," the official said after an event held recently to launch intumescent and flame resistant coating that provides precious time in the event of a fire.

According to him, the modern Sohar factory is spread over an area of 50,000 square metres and has a much higher capacity than the first plant in Ghala, which produces a wide range of products that primarily include architectural coatings, wood finishes and industrial coatings.

Capacity

Asked about the capacity of the new plant, the General Manager of Asian Paints (Middle East) said, "We were making about 10,000 kilo litres (per annum). This (factory) can produce up to three times more."

"We have grown in the last 15 years thanks to growth in Oman. We have reached a stage, where we feel that we do not have enough capacity," Raj said, adding that the new plant has been established to keep up with the advances in technology and the latest developments in the paint industry.

New products

Raj also pointed out that the company will continue to offer new products to fulfil the demands of the market.

The newly introduced intumescent paint and flame resistant coatings are suitable for structural building materials, such as stone, plaster and steel structures.

According to the company, while the coating is inert at low heat, it swells to provide a blanket of insulation at high temperature by increasing in volume and decreasing in density.

This acts as an expanded layer of low conductivity at high temperature so that the heat is delayed and reduced in reaching the steel structure, keeping the fire from turning out of control.

Berger Paints, a world leader in colour mixing technology has close to 40,000 colour mixing shops in the world. It is known for its innovative products that are decorative, attractive and safe, and environment-friendly at the same time.

© Times of Oman 2015