Looking forward to a colourful future
Dulux Zimbabwe
Looking forward to a colourful future The paint manufacturer may have a globally recognised name, but knows all about the challenges and responsibilities of being an indigenously Zimbabwean company Written by: Matthew Staff Produced by: Nizar Kanafani >>> 2
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ulux Zimbabwe has grown alongside the globally renowned name over its 56 year existence, but there wouldn’t be many branches around the world who can proclaim to have overcome some of the difficulties this company has. A Zimbabwean consortium bought the company in 2006 following a concerted effort by the then owners to offload a business embroiled in the political volatility in Zimbabwe at the time. However, the consortium saw the opportunity of acquiring such an esteemed brand,
and their persistence has certainly paid off. It wasn’t an easy induction for them though: “When we first took over the business we were in the deepest throws of inflation, in so far as the devaluation of the Zimbabwe dollar,” Chief Executive Officer, Alan Clarke said. “For the first three or four years after the acquisition it was purely a juggling act of trying to realise best value for any money you could receive for your products.” This all meant that from 20062009, prior to the end of the Zimbabwe dollar, Dulux Zimbabwe 3
Dulux Zimbabwe Looking forward to a colourful future
was essentially operating from a zero base with all resources whittled away by the ravages of the devaluation. Three years of growth Clarke and his loyal team of employees weren’t to be deterred from the apparent potential that a Dulux brand in the heart of southern Africa could have though, and he has since taken great strides in restoring the company to its former glories, in line with the wider country’s ongoing development. “In 2009, when we dollarised, to 2010, we showed 138 percent growth. From 2010 to 2011, we grew by another 21 percent and for the year 2011 to 2012 we’re running at a 20 percent increase in volume. “From 2009, coming from a zero Harare International Airport painted by Dulux
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base when there was just one thing to do and that was to grow, we’re now able to look at other markets to get our products into those areas, and implement real development growth.” Under the parent company guidance of Akzo Nobel, Dulux Zimbabwe can now, once again, look ahead to profitable sustainability as well as developing the company parallel to new trends and technologies. “With our technical and royalty fees that we pay to Dulux South Africa, we’re always being updated with new technologies which obviously assist us in ensuring we do become more green and more efficient,” said Clarke. “We have a reputation of producing the highest quality paint in the country and we also have the best colour offer. This can be backed up with market research that shows we are way ahead of the opposition.” Future expansion Moving into this more colourful future, Dulux Zimbabwe has already taken steps to improve its operations, both in terms of internal systems and international expansion. However, there isn’t always the
Factory front entrance
necessity for aggressive strategies, with the traditional paint industry not always calling for wholesale changes in production. A second hand resin plant has been acquired from South Africa and while this is a fantastic opportunity for future growth, there isn’t the immediate need for its facilitation just yet, due to the great facility capacity already enjoyed within the company. Should the need for growth occur though, the business will be able to commission this new plant, which will also go alongside new high speed mixers similrly invested in
recently. Rather than looking solely at technological advances, the company is primarily addressing the need to keep up with industry trends and global environmental responsibilities. Firstly, Clarke notes that there has been a paradigm shift in the paint manufacturing field recently, in regards to demand from certain sectors. “We’re seeing a lot of old existing markets coming back to the fore,” he said. “The organisations that are the biggest customers at present are the independent retailers, which 5
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sees a bit of a paradigm shift from 20 years ago when it was primarily just the chain stores. People from more varying sectors are now looking for expertise and colour offers and, basically, the best service available.” They’re likely to get it too, with Dulux Zimbabwe not only well known for its excellent product variety, but also in adhering to ecofriendly trends that are engulfing the manufacturing world at present. “Lead based pigments are an absolute no-no at the moment, and we’ve also been doing some developmental work in regards to road lines,” Clarke continued. “We’re using water-based road line paints now, as well as trying to reduce our general emissions and implementing all the best practices within our factories.” The market in Zimbabwe still doesn’t allow for dramatic expansion, due to the continued cash crunch within the country, but a consolidating strategy is certainly enabling slight migration into new regions. Mozambique and Malawi are already exported to, while the likes of Botswana and Zambia are also on the horizon. Loyal relationships Having been with the company 7
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for 20 years all-told, Clarke understands the necessity for such expansion despite the challenging conditions, and attributes the significant stabilisation of the company, post 2009, to the solid infrastructure and skill base within the business. “We were fortunate in that we inherited a really good skills base within our top line staff, in the form of our production manager and technical manager, who are both highly skilled individuals,” he said. “As far as the developing skills within the organisation there has also been a lot of encouragement given to people to undertake
We have a reputation of producing the highest quality paint in the country and we also have the best colour offer. This can be backed up with market research that shows we are way ahead of the opposition.” Alan Clarke, MD of Dulux Zimbabwe
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Dulux Zimbabwe Looking forward to a colourful future
Let’s Colour Project relevant courses, partly funded by the company, and we have seen that people have developed through this initiative.” This internal resilience and collaborative feel both stems from and encourages strong, loyal relationships that have formed throughout Dulux Zimbabwe’s 56 years. Many of the company’s current employees have been with the organisation for 30 to 40 of those years, and the same solid connections are now being formed with suppliers as well. “We now have relationships significant to the development and 10
longer term relationships with our suppliers,” said Clarke. “This is primarily with Dulux South Africa who are our main suppliers of raw materials, but even locally we have good relationships with our suppliers too.” Despite Dulux Zimbabwe’s native roots and domestic loyalty to Zimbabwe, it is these philosophies that are synonymous with the Dulux brand, which Clarke is equally proud of. “The products you buy in Zimbabwe will be identical to the products you buy in England or
STATISTICS
Industry: Paint manufacturing Founded: 1956 Headquarters: Southerton Harare, Zimbabwe Key People/Titles: Alan Clarke, CEO Products: Paint Revenue: $15 million Employees: 90 Website:
www.dulux.co.zw
Australia or wherever you may be around the world, and that is a result of our licensing and royalty agreement where we have to maintain those standards, and we succeed in doing so.�
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Dulux Zimbabwe 11042 Highfield Road, Harare Zimbabwe Tel: +2634621460 - 5 Fax: +2634621406 sales@dulux.co.zw www.dulux.co.zw
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