Sadolin rebrands as Plascon after Kansai Paint acquisition

Sadolin Paints Uganda has rebranded as Kansai Plascon Uganda after the Osaka-based Kansai Paint Co completed its acquisition of the company from AkzoNobel, a Dutch paint and coatings company.

Kansai Paint acquired Sadolin’s operations in Uganda and other East African countries through its South African subsidiary, Kansai Plascon Africa Ltd. The company made the announcement of the completed acquisition and rebranding last week at their Namanve factory.

“The acquisition will see no changes in top management and any other positions at Sadolin,” a statement released by the company said. Chris Nugent will stay on as Managing Director, and the “company will continue to operate as optimally as it has been with the current employee base”.

The statement added that the acquisition will not impact Kansai Plascon Uganda’s current operations, but “comes with more streamlined operations.” It said it will maintain its local dealerships, stores, and shops. The prices of its products will also remain the same, Mr Nugent said.

“Over the next few months, as we complete the transition, we shall subject to our contractual commitments, phase out the Sadolin brand from the shelves and encourage our customers to ask for Plascon from their local dealer,” said Mr Nugent.

First announced in January, the acquisition was said to be the largest in East Africa in the last two years.

Kansai Paint acquired Plascon South Africa – which had operated in the country for over 100 years – in 2011 with a focus on expanding to Africa.

This was part of the paints company’s global expansion drive over the last 10 years. The company had been looking to expand in East and West Africa – the only regions in which they did not have operations.

Read More: Kansai Paint agrees acquisition of Sadolin’s East Africa operations

Kansai Paint has operations in Japan, China, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa. Its product offering covers the decorative, industrial, protective coatings and automotive segment. It has research and development facilities in Japan, India and South Africa.

The company is set to announce the launch of Kansai Plascon in Tanzania on Saturday. With the acquisition of Sadolin operations in East Africa, Kansai is set to be the largest coatings company on the continent.

Kansai Plascon Uganda says it will expand its product line, manufactured at a recently established $10 million plant in Namanve.

“The Ugandan market can look forward to the Plascon Visualizer mobile phone app which allows people to play and experiment with colours for their homes and projects before they head to the store to place their orders,” Chris Nugent said at a press conference at the Plascon Factory in Namanve last week.

The coatings company said that they will maintain their lead in the industry through “continuous innovation”. In a February interview with the Financial Times, the Kansai Paints chief executive, Hiroshi Ishino said that the company in Uganda would be looking at adding products like a mosquito-repelling paint.

Established in Uganda in 1963, Sadolin Paints was the country’s largest paint manufacturer, with more than 50% of the market share.