Maduka Nweke, [email protected]
Finished property may not have great value if the right paint is not applied. Paint has a way of increasing the ratings and the value people attach to buildings. This is reason, a lot of people contract the services of experienced painter to add value to their property. The above is correct, however, lack of regulation on the side of Paint manufacturing has made it possible for every Dick, Tom and Harry to start Paint manufacturing business in their two bedroom apartments. Aside the fact that these paints are produced without the requisite formula and authorised solutions, the fact that paints are manufactured with chemicals of varying degrees sends dangerous signals if they are done in residential building.
Paints are made with hazardous materials that are injurious to human beings. So, situations where government regulatory agencies should abandon their cardinal roles and look other ways while the society is being subjected to risks is not acceptable. That Nigeria do not manufacture anything could be blamed on the non-challant attitudes of these regulators. Today most of the paints being used in the country are majorly of inferior qualities because the regulatory authorities are weak. Latching on the weakness, people now take Paint manufacturing as making pap that could be done without cognizance to laid down rules.
The Nigerian paint industry has done fairly well since its inception even in the face of unflinching obstacles. But epileptic supply of power has sent a lot of manufacturing companies in the country to neighboring countries. To worsen the situation, ease of doing business in the country has remained high. This is why a lot of people query government for entering into that African Trade Treaty. Their argument is that it can work in all countries but Nigeria. This is because in Nigeria, we lack infrastructure, we lack power, security as others remained the way they are. They posit that Nigeria will by that become a dumping ground. They argue that Government should grant manufacturers licenses to generate their own power, because refusal to give them approval to generate electricity for their own use is affecting their operations. Aside from that, each state should generate its own power, rather than depending on the Federal Government. The 36 states must be involved in electricity generation and distribution for them to have constant power supply. Generally, the power sector should be flexible like telecommunications. When GSM started in Nigeria over 10 years ago, people bought a SIM card for about N45,000 but today, it is free because different companies were given the opportunity to come into the sector to invest. The question is, why is government still spending so much money after privatisation of PHCN?
Those in this industry that are registered members try as far as possible to be in tune with global trends and comply with quality, technology and safety requirements for the benefit of the environment and stakeholders, while also serving as a platform for establishing ways to penetrate other markets outside the country. This is why government should do well to regulate the manufacture of paints if not for anything, at least for the safety of members of the public. A story was told of how a man and his family started producing paint where they are living with other tenants yet, they failed to know the dangers of having those chemicals in residential homes. They failed to know that in the event of fire disaster, those chemicals that are combustible will make quenching of the fire very difficult if not impossible.
Paint manufacturing companies have been existing in Nigeria as early as the nineteen sixties. Some of them operated as subsidiaries of foreign companies until indigenous companies completely bought over their shares. These industries have grown continuously and evolved overtime. Today, the Nigerian paint industry is one of the largest in terms of product supply in the country and major player in the employment of labour and economic advancement. The industry has witnessed technological advancements in the methods of production as a result of stiff competition within the industry as every paint producer is forced to put in their best to ensure that they remain relevant in the market. The Nigerian paints industry operates in three different tiers which are determined by product quality, company reputation and a large customer base. The first tier consists of major player and producers of top quality paints like Dulux paints, Berger paints, Meyer paints, IPWA, CAP Plc and premium paints just to mention this few.
They control the industry to a large extent and have been existing for decades as importers of paint products but began to produce locally as the demand increased. These key players actually laid the foundation of the indigenous paint industry in Nigeria and have remained at the top by refusing to compromise on the quality of their products. Find a directory on the top fifteen paint producing companies in Nigeria and their products on infoguide and you will understand what I mean. The second tier consists of medium quality paint producers with a lesser control of the market shares; they are mostly private owned companies that operate on a smaller scale while the third tier consists of companies that produce basic quality paint products they have a bigger market than the middle tier producers because, their products are cheap and very affordable. The Nigerian paints & coatings market was worth an estimated $200 million in 2012. Growing by an estimated CAGR of 9.01 per cent, the market was an estimated $218 million in 2013 and was about $238 million in 2014. Due to a significant number of unorganized players, estimating production capacity and sales volumes are difficult. However, from analysis there is estimate total sales volume to be around an estimated 128 million litres a year. The Nigerian paint industry is segmented into organized and unorganized sectors. The organized sector consists of companies with adequate access to capital and an increasingly effective distribution network. Inadequate access to funds and technical expertise required for industrial coatings is a major factor we used in differentiating market players. In decorative paints segment, both organized and unorganized players are present as it does not require heavy technological investments. Lenient government policies make it easy for new players to enter into the market resulting in a large number of players in the Nigerian paints & coatings industry. The sector comprises of about 5 big companies with each company’s annual revenues in excess of $7 million, and numerous small and medium scaled companies nationwide. In 2012, according to Frost & Sullivan, decorative paints & coatings which have a strong correlation with the real estate industry was an estimated 71 per cent of total volume of paints & coatings in Nigeria. From our observations of the different prices in the different paints& coatings segment we estimate the decorative segment accounts for about 60 per cent of total sales value. The industrial coatings sector accounts for an estimated 29 per cent of total volume and 40 per cent of total sales value.