Kansai Plascon : Putting People First in Africa
Executives from Kansai Plascon discuss their divisions and how they manage talent within the organisation.
Kansai Plascon : Coated in Trust
Kansai Plascon has been producing industry leading paints and coatings across Africa for almost 130 years, a standing built on constant innovation and unwavering trust in the brand’s quality Â
Kansai Plascon
Forward-Thinking ManufacturingWriter:Emily JarvisProject Manager:Tom CullumKansai Plascon can look to the future assured by the strength of its past. Since 1889, Plascon has been the force behind the production of top quality coatings with innovative and ground-breaking technologies, making it southern Africa’s leading coatings manufacturer.Given the rapid company growth over the years, in 2012, the company formerly known as Plascon South Africa was renamed Kansai Plascon, after a merger with Japanese company Kansai Paint, the world’s sixth largest coatings company.Boasting over a century of manufacturing firsts, in November 2014, the Company received three prestigious awards for its forward-thinking point of sales executions at the annual Point of Purchase Advertising International (POPAI) awards in South Africa; nominated as finalists in three separate categories and going on to win gold, silver and bronze.Moreover, Plascon is known in the market for its memorable advertising campaigns including the iconic 40-year old Double Velvet brand, which is one of the longest advertised brands on South African television today.“These innovations show the brand’s commitment to providing customers with the very best service and top quality products. As such, Plascon has once again been recognised for marketing excellence by the greater industry,” said the Company.Today, Kansai Plascon continues to champion the Plascon brand as it expands into Africa as the continent’s number one coatings company; incorporating the best of Kansai’s 90-year international reputation for innovation, with Plascon’s 125-year reputation for South African brand leadership. The Company continues to drive innovation and excellence in the retail, trade, industrial and furniture coatings markets in southern Africa…
Kansai Plascon
African amibitions Kansai Plascon is a company with expansion on its mind. Already the premier paint company in South Africa, Plascon was purchased by Japanese company Kansai in 2012. With a fresh injection of money from Japan, it purchased a 63.25 percent interest in Zimbabwean Astra Industries Limited this July. Africa Outlook takes a closer look at this household name with huge ambitions. Writer Hannah Eiseman-Reynard Project manager Tom Cullum south African paint and coatings company Kansai Plascon's history stretches back to 1889 when a carriage varnish seller expanded into ready-mixed paint – the first to do so in the country. In the years that followed Plascon, as it was known until Japanese company Kansai purchased it in 2012, became South Africa's largest manufacturer of paints, coatings and chemicals, serving both the retail and manufacturing industries. Now it has investment from Japan to go even further. "Kansai had a clear mandate that once we came into Africa we would use Kansai Plascon in South Africa for our platform for further growth into the rest of the continent," CEO Nauman Malik told CNBC Africa's Power Lunch in an interview earlier this year. The expansion has been rapid with a $5.5 million investment in a 63.25 percent share in Zimbabwean company Astra Industries – the leading paint company in Zimbabwe – just this July. "We are very happy to say that we have made the first step in that expansion plan a reality," Malik said. Astra Industries focuses on the coatings industry and the industrial sector – much…
