3 minute read
Committed to excellence
Tradition, quality and independence keeps Excelsior Paints on point in a competitive coatings market, says its CEO, Ron Lawson.
Quality is never achieved by accident – it requires an investment in infrastructure, technology, and dedication. Above all, it involves pride. At Excelsior Paints, pride is just one of the unique ingredients that ensure that each can of our paint meets the standards of a competitive market marketplace. Undoubtedly, however, the most crucial additive in this age of impersonal corporations is that Excelsior is still a family-owned business”, says Lawson.
“We are proud that Excelsior Paints is one of the oldest, premier, independent family-owned paint companies in South Africa – a company that can trace its roots back more than 80 years to the days when Johannesburg was a bustling, pioneering city where gold and entrepreneurship were kings.
“Our heritage and commitment to independence have shaped our reputation as the preferred paint supplier to independent hardware retailers nationwide with a distribution network that the Excelsior brand backs with attractive margins. Excelsior Paints has deliberately positioned itself in the competitive decorative paint market to ensure the sustainability and profitability of the paint category of the independent hardware retailer, by offering quality products at cost prices that still allow the retailer to make a fair margin,” says Lawson.
Committing to its independent hardware retailers, the unique ‘Dealer Network Protection Plan’ guarantees that Excelsior does not sell its products direct to the public.
However, Excelsior recognises that tradition and independence are not enough to guarantee the success of its business. Although CEO, Ron Lawson’s, son Guy, and daughter Kim keep uncompromising eyes on all aspects of the company, they know that the coatings business changes from year to year and season to season.
Tradition has become a value that provides the backbone for modern products that take account of changing trends and tastes. Keeping abreast of the market means that our dealers can sell Excelsior products with the confidence of knowing that the needs of householders, decorators, contractors or developers will always be met.
To keep on-trend, Excelsior Paints has for many years been one of more than 55 independent paint manufacturers, drawn from 14 countries, who are members of the American ‘Color Guild’ – the international body dedicated to the promotion, marketing and selling of paint products.
Color Guild colourists are known for their ability to predict and present members with information regarding colour trends 12 to 18 months before they occur. Members, their dealers and consumers stay ahead of the ever-changing colour curve.
MAINTAINING STANDARDS AND MEETING THE EXPECTATIONS OF CUSTOMERS MEANS:
• Excelsior now produces many millions of litres per month of decorative and industrial paint in three manufacturing facilities
• Every day Excelsior Paints meets the needs of its dealers throughout the country with a nationwide distribution operation
• Excelsior Paints have exceeded the requirements of SABS and international quality standards ratings for its Premium Range of water and solvent-based products
• Excelsior makes a further six-year declaration of minimum life expectancy on its Trade Decorators Range of water and solvent-based coatings
• The company applies an eight-year declaration of minimum life expectancy on the All-Purpose Range of water and solvent-based products that meet SABS and international quality standards
• The Premium Range Range of water and solvent-based products carry 10 and 12-year minimum life expectancy declarations.
Behind these coatings and guarantees lies Excelsior’s own world-class quality control and R&D development laboratories. “At Excelsior, family involvement, tradition, dedication, development and distribution mean one thing- You can’t buy a better paint for less, Lawson concludes.
