Housing in Southern Africa February 2015

Paints, Coatings & Sealants

Global paint giant Beckers is turning its attention to developing awide range of paint products especially for African conditions. Industrial paint supplier targets Africa

T he company intends work- ing closely with all-manner of manufacturing clients across the continent, and to use its sub- stantial research and development capabilities to produce paints that can enhance these manufacturers’ products. Whether designing coatings to protect earth-moving equipment in tropical Africa, or providing lower-cost coatings for roof sheets used in the development of low-cost housing in West Africa, the company is focused on finding the right solutions for specific applications. In South Africa Beckers is best known for its leadership in the provi- sion of advanced coil coatings. These are used by the country’s steel and aluminium mills to provide finishes for a variety of flat sheet products that are supplied to local manufacturers to make everyday goods such as roof

sheets, appliances, automotive and other products. But, according to Beckers Group Managing Director, Willem van Heerden, the company’s expertise spans far beyond coil coatings. World- wide the company has also developed special coating technologies for trains, agricultural, construction, earthmov- ing equipment and even consumer devices such as cell phones. “These range fromcoatings inmak- ing tractors more durable to even pro- viding attractive cladding that assists architects to build greener structures to phone manufacturers to introduce trendy newdesigns. However, in Africa our well established network has been geared mainly to service steel and aluminiummills in sub-Saharan, East and West African regions. In order to expand our reach, we have recently also begun to mobilise our technical staff to work closely with key indus- trial manufacturers and assist them to enhance their product offerings.” “We have developed Beckry, a cost effective coil coating for roof sheeting inWest Africa and nowsupply coatings for rolling stock (PRASA), as well as corrosion resistant paints for Eskom’s new power stations. This shows that our technically advanced coatings can be developed for use in awide range of

industries. The only challenge that we face now is to familiarise industry with our service offering and to introduce our specialised coatings to awider po- tential client base,” says van Heerden. At present the company’s strat- egy is to work closely with engineers, specifiers and architects, to develop solutions for their own specific re- quirements. With assistance from the company’s global research and development centres and long-term development groups, the company is committed to working with these specialised industrial customers to develop new products and find solu- tions for manufacturing dilemmas. “We are constantly working with our steel mill customers to develop flat sheet products that will give them an edge in the markets,” concludes van Heerden. Beckers is aworld leader in the sup- ply of coil coatings and has developed a variety of solutions to survive in the toughest conditions. These include corrosion, abrasion, scratch, UV resis- tant varieties as well as advanced anti- bacterial, self-cleaning and thermally reflective coatings. For further information contact 016 428 4011, email: willem.van- heerden@beckers-group.com or visit www.beckers-group.com ■

Willem van Heerden

February 2015