Jotun Paints Saudi Arabia started 2001 well with nine major work orders in hand, the largest being a project at Prince Abdullah Military City in the Kingdom.

For this year, the company has targeted an annual growth rate of 10 per cent, says marketing manager Venkat Krishnan.

"Our performance last year was good, an improvement over 1999 in terms of growth, despite a general slowdown in construction in the Kingdom," he says.

Other major contracts that Jotun Paints has been involved with this year are the Al Imam University, a housing compound for the Saline Water Conversion Company (SWCC), the Nakheel Village, the Badaya Hospital, a project for Riyadh Transportation Company, a MoDA (Ministry of Defence and Aviation) project in Khamis Mushayit, the Al Issa Mosque and a palace for Prince Sudairy.

Work at Prince Abdullah Military City started in January with Jotun asked to supply all the paint required for the project, involving an area of 600,000 sq m. The client is the Saudi Arabian National Guard with Saudi Oger as contractor and Saudi Projacs as consultant.

The paints selected were Masonry primer, Stucco regular, Acrylic Texo HB, Heavytex with M-chips and Durosan 02. Durathane is being used for steel doors and frames while Durosan 03 is being applied for the exterior blocks.

The paints Jotun is supplying for use on 70 villas of Nakheel Village are AR primer, Stucco, Jotafibre and Fenomastic Silk, all for the interior, and AR primer, Profile Décor and HTex with M-chips for the exterior. The total area involved is 100,000 sq m. Artar Co is the client, contractor and consultant on the project.

Nakheel Village was not the biggest villa project undertaken by Jotun Paints in recent years. In 1996-97, it worked on a 430-villa complex at the Diplomatic Quarter,Riyadh, where the painting area totalled 700,000 sq m.

For the Al Imam University in Riyadh, Jotun was awarded the contract for internal paints, under Phase 5 of the project, being executed by LG Construction Company for the university. Jotun's work involves an area of 30,000 sq m. Supplies started in November and most of the painting will be completed this year.

For the SWCC, Jotun is supplying paints for its housing compound in Shoaiba, being built by Al Rashid Trading and Contracting. The total area of the project is 100,000 sq m.

All the contracts are a result of the confidence that Jotun Saudia has earned since production commenced at its facility in Yanbu in 1985, says Shafique Siddique, the national sales manager.

"This confidence is a result of its high product quality and exceptional technical service provided according to the market's needs," says Siddique. "Over the years, thanks to the protection and aesthetic value that Jotun paints afford, the company has won orders from Saudi air bases, airports, shipyards, refineries, shopping centres, palaces and mosques."

The year 2000 was also a busy one for Jotun Saudi Arabia with the company winning some important projects, notable among them being the high-rise Kingdom Centre in Riyadh, being built by billionaire businessman Prince Al Waleed bin Talal.

The 300-m-high skyscraper, which is being built by El Seif Engineering, is to be completed later this year. The 32-storey tower will have a Four Seasons hotel, offices, apartments and a shopping centre.

Jotun paints being used for the project are its Masonry primer, Stucco, Bengalac, Fenomastic Silk, Jotacryl topcoat, Durosan 02, Durosan 03 and Acrylic Texo HB. The total area involved is 400,000 sq m.

Among the other large contracts the company was associated with in 2000 was a MoDA project in Tabuk which involved painting an area of 80,000 sq m. MoDA was the client and consultant while Deeba Establishment was the contractor.

Jotun also supplied paints for the Bawardi residential complex. The area involved was 45,000 sq m with Al Bawardi as the client and consultant and Etack as the contractor.

Among other prominent projects to which Jotun has supplied its paints is the recently-inaugurated Al Tameer Centre in Riyadh, developed by the Arriyadh Development Authority. The total painting area involved on this commercial centre was approximately 250,000 sq m, utilising Jotun's Masonry primer, Stucco, Durosan 02 and 03, Bengalac and Heavy Tex without M-chips. The complex includes a ladies shopping centre, a gold suq and a general mall.

Jotun Paints Saudi Arabia, which is part of the Norway-based Jotun Group, operates through its branches in Jeddah, Riyadh, Yanbu, Dammam and Jubail. Annual capacity at its Yanbu factory is 20 million litres and its range covers decorative, industrial, protective and marine paints as well as a new range of superior floor coatings called Jotafloor.

Jotun Paints says it was the first paint company in the Middle East to introduce the multicolour tinting technology - a system that offers a choice of millions of colours and can match the shade of any non-transparent solid surface by scanning its colour and transforming the colour to a paint in moments.

Jotun's commitment to quality in every aspect of its operations in Saudi Arabia has been recognised by the ultimate accolade - the award of the prestigious ISO 9001 certificate from DNV in April 1996, the first paint company in the Kingdom to receive that recognition, according to Ravi Vattaka, the business systems manager. The award certifies that Jotun's development, manufacture and distribution of decorative, marine and protective paints have met the highest and most demanding standards.

Jotun's experience in the Middle East is itself longstanding, going back nearly 40 years. It was one of the first companies to manufacture paints in the Gulf, and today occupies a prominent position as one of the largest paint producers in the region with a supply network throughout the area.

Jotun's other Middle East factories are located in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Muscat and Ismailia (Egypt). According to Jotun, they produce a comprehensive range of both sophisticated and conventional coatings selected to serve the particular needs of the region's domestic, building trade, marine, heavy-duty and on/offshore markets. A large number of the products are formulated specially for local climatic conditions. Jotun's technical staff are highly trained, and their local experience is extensive.

Moreover, in the Middle East, Jotun has also established Jotun Powder Coatings factories in Dubai and Dammam. Jotun's sales and distribution centres, apart from factories, are located in various cities of the region.

Jotun's worldwide operations hark back to 1926 when it was established in Sandefjord, Norway. It has long been one of the world's major producers of paints and coatings for decorative, marine and industrial applications with an annual worldwide turnover of over $600 million.

The company has steadily and successfully consolidated its position through internationalisation and the maintenance of its leadership in technological development.

Jotun, currently, has 35 factories around the globe producing liquid and powder coatings, with representation/associate companies in more than 40 countries throughout the world.