Nippon Paint India’s Protec marks the company’s expansion in the industrial coatings segment.
Story by: Deven Lad
Sharad Malhotra, President, Nippon Paint India – Automotive Refinishes & Wood Coatings
Protec marks Nippon Paint India’s expansion in the industrial coatings segment. At the virtual launch event, the company introduced, the Protec range which includes a suite of products: primers, topcoats and specialised coating. The new range, aimed at meeting the industrial coatings segment pull will help the company expand exponentially, according to Sharad Malhotra, President, Nippon Paint India – Automotive Refinishes & Wood Coatings. “We expect the Protec brand to add Rs.50 crore to the top line in the next two to three years,” he averred. With Protec, the company aspires to turn paint process specialists offering end to end solutions. “At Nippon Paint India, our focus is to offer a comprehensive package of products and solutions and the best value for money to all our customers. We aspire to turn paint process specialists, and we aim to provide end to end solutions that ensure higher productivity, better protection, best quality and overall enhanced performance to our customers,” added Malhotra.
Claimed to be an outcome of Research and Development (R&D) efforts put in, in the last quarter(April-June’2020), the claimed indigenously developed suite is developed to comply with the Atmanirbhar Bharat movement. “This range required us to develop technology-driven products that can withstand and protect surfaces under extreme weather and chemical environment. Protec meets the industrial standards of corrosion protection, chemical resistance, appearance and performance. It delivers maximum results and best value for customers”, added Siddharth Sharma, Senior Sales and Marketing Manager, Nippon Paint India Automotive Refinish. Explained Sharma, that the new range of products is tailor-made for industrial users, seeking optimised painting solutions for protection and maintenance purposes.
Protec range
With a highly durable coating and claimed improved coverage and performance, Protec, according to Sharma, offers a high degree of resistance to the environment and chemical elements. Explaining that the adhesion bonds well with various ferrous and non-ferrous substrates, he added that the range offers ease of application and configuration. Especially with different spray systems like pneumatic assist type airless spray systems. Protec will be made available in two system variants: 1K system and 2K system. While the 1K system range of products will offer a base plus thinner, the 2K system range of products will provide a base plus hardener.
1K paints coats
1K paints coats are known to be independent of a catalyst required to harden. In effect, the clear coat on the surface application doesn’t need additives to dry. The Protec 1K chlorinated rubber topcoat, for instance, is a single pack air drying chlorinated rubber-based finish suited to structural steel protection. Applicable to the interior and exterior use, it offers ease of application and good flow, high coverage, water-resistance and drying properties. Nippon is offering single pack air alkyds (polyester modified by the addition of fatty acids and other components ) primers like red oxide, zinc phosphate and zinc chrome pigments. The anti-corrosive black primer offered is based on bitumen, a unique combination of bitumen resin, pigments and solvents. The 1K product range includes Protec 1K Red oxide Primer, Protec 1K Grey Primer and Protec 1K ZC Yellow primer.
2K paint coats
2K paint coats, in contrast, require a catalyst for the paint to harden failing which the layer will not fully dry. Under 2K, Protec offers specially formulated primers based on red oxide, zinc phosphate and zinc chrome pigments besides epoxy resin. A suite of highly anti-corrosive and anti-rust, it is specially made for metalwork based on epoxy resin and zinc pigment. For instance, Epoxy MIO grey and Epoxy MIO brown is a specially formulated primer based on the pigments and epoxy resin combination. It is suited to all types of ferrous metals. The 2K product range includes EP Red Oxide Primer, EP Grey Primer and EP ZC Yellow primer.
Go-to-market strategy
The company has signed on 50 industrial dealers as part of its go-to-market strategy. Expected to add more partners by the year-end, Nippon, according to Sharma will leverage the well-established relationships with leading commercial vehicle Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM), State Transport Undertakings (STU), private bus and coach manufacturers among other industrial customers. He opined that the Protec brand would help the company’s dealers to, in turn, reach out to their customers more effectively, resulting in profitability for both the channel and business partners. The renewed customer focus, he said, would help the company connect with customer requirements in a powerful way. Speaking of the brand evolution, he shared, “Protec is not just going to be a simple one-time created product solution. We hope that as we develop the market, we will be launching more and more technology solutions under the Protec brand.” ACI
