The Kolkata-based Berger Paints India has signed an agreement with Japan's Rock Paint Co Ltd to market automotive refinish paints manufactured by Rock Paint in India. The products will be launched next month.
While Berger Paints is already present in all areas of automotive coatings in India, Rock Paint offers a wide range of high-quality, easy-to-use coatings suited too the diverse needs of today's auto-refinish market.
Total automotive coatings production in India stood at 76.1 kilotonnes (KT) in 2012-13 and is forecast to reach 134.7 KT by 2017-18. Kansai Nerolac, Asian PPG, Berger Paints and AkzoNobel are some of the major players in the Indian automotive coatings sector.
With rise in greenfield as well as brownfield projects in automotive sector, the demand for automotive paints in the country is expected to witness robust growth. Although the OEM coatings segment accounts for 75 percent of the total market share in terms of volume, the refinish coatings segment is expected to witness higher growth rates. This is the opportunity that Berger Paints and Rock Paint aim to tap through this tie up.
“Both the companies are optimistic that the superior automotive refinish paints will have considerable demand in the Rs 20,000 crore automotive refinish market in India. The companies may discuss establishment of a joint venture in India at a later date,” said Berger Paints in a press release.
In the last few months, Berger Paints has been consolidating its industrial paints business with a series of tie-ups. Recently, the company joined hands with Chugoku Marine Paints Ltd (CMP) of Japan for cooperation and collaboration in the field of marine and related industrial paints in India.
Berger Paints India Ltd is the second largest paint company in India with a gross turnover of more than Rs 5,000 crores. The company is present in all segments of paint including decorative, automotive, industrial, protective and powder coatings.
