Jotun Paints, an established supplier of high-end protective and marine coatings, is making new steps to expand its Saudi operations.

It has developed, manufactured, marketed and supplied protective coatings and cathodic protection systems for the marine, petroleum and industrial sectors for many years.
On a global basis, Jotun is one of the leaders in marine and protective coatings and in Saudi Arabia Jotun has a leading role in Yanbu and the Western Province.
Jotun is increasing its market share for protective coatings in Saudi Arabia and is strengthening its position as a single source supplier in the petroleum, industrial, petrochemical and marine sectors. As well as antifouling and marine coatings, Jotun provides advanced corrosion protection for onshore and offshore petroleum facilities. This includes cathodic protection systems for underwater hulls, ballast tanks, and steel structures for onshore and offshore petroleum production and petrochemical plants.
According to a company spokesman, Jotun provides a partnership approach with its clients to meet the technical challenges of protecting steel structures, pipelines, internal tank linings, and offshore structures, applying a wide range of proven coating systems. Thus, a technical and consultative approach is adopted that seeks to develop long-term relations with clients to meet the specific corrosion control and protective coating challenges of the region. This technical role is directly linked to production in Yanbu, and, in turn, to Jotun's extensive research and development facilities in Norway.
The Jotun range includes epoxies, acrylics, polyesters, alkyds and powder coatings for protective applications. Through its manufacturing facilities in Yanbu, Jotun is also extremely active in the local market through special seminars and affiliations with local organisations such as NACE in promoting inspection procedures, trial testing and the application of coating technologies to meet the highest client specifications as well as safety, health and environmental factors.
Jotun is an approved supplier to Saudi Aramco, meeting the specifications of the APCS (Aramco Protective Coating Systems) and is working closely with clients to meet all approval standards. Jotun also sits on monthly committees with Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) and its affiliates to discuss and specify new and existing coating ranges to meet the high specifications required to protect and maintain the world-scale petrochemical and industrial plants of Jubail and Yanbu.
Jotun is a major supplier to the Saudi Iron and Steel Company (Hadeed) expansion, Saudi Yanbu Petrochemical Company (Yanpet), Arabian Industrial Fibers Company (Ibn Rushd) and Chevron, as well as being strongly associated with the protective coating requirements of the secondary industries of Jubail and Yanbu.
Jotun pioneered the development of a range of water-based epoxy paints called 'Waterfin' which minimise the negative impact of products on human health and the environment whilst maintaining the protective features that the product demands.
Jotun introduced its new tin-free antifouling technology, demonstrating its environmental credentials and meeting international legislation against tin-containing products due to enter force this year.
Jotun Saudi Arabia was one of the first companies to establish paint manufacturing facilities in the Kingdom when it established a plant in Yanbu Industrial City almost 20 years ago. Today, Jotun Saudi Arabia is one of the Kingdom's largest producers of decorative paints, marine and protective coatings from its Yanbu facility, an additional manufacturing plant in Jeddah and extensive supply network across Saudi Arabia and the Middle East.
The Jotun name is firmly established in the Middle East, with the Jotun brand synonymous with quality and performance ever since the company established a manufacturing plant in Dubai in 1975. Jotun Saudi Arabia is part of Norway's Jotun A/S, one of the world's leaders in paints and coatings technology dating back to 1926 when the company was first established in Sandefjord. From the very beginning, Jotun A/S placed great emphasis on product development and independent testing of its formulations to meet the highest and most demanding standards and applications.
An estimated five per cent of the Group's estimated worldwide turnover is invested in research and development. This proactive strategy of quality assurance and product development has led Jotun to assume a leadership position through all areas of its operations.
Jotun A/S has built its formidable reputation by providing high-quality marine, protective and decorative paints on a local basis throughout the world. The Group's internationalisation began in Libya in 1961 and today there are 35 plants producing liquid and powder paints with representation and associates in more than 50 countries. In the Middle East, Jotun operates paint factories in Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Muscat and Egypt and powder coating plants in Dammam and Dubai.
The Jotun tradition of quality assurance and technical support in all aspects of its operations in Saudi Arabia has resulted in the company obtaining the prestigious ISO 9001-2000 version certification from DNV, the first paint company in the Middle East to receive such high recognition. Such an accreditation recognises the traditions of organisation, technical support, training and distribution backed by significant international Jotun investment in research and product development.
Jotun Saudi Arabia has established a prominent position as one of the leading high performance paint producers in the region with an unrivalled supply network and reputation for high-quality paints and protective coatings for the construction, marine, petroleum, petrochemical and industrial sectors of the Kingdom.
Established in the Kingdom in 1984 with its head office in Jeddah, Jotun Saudia began paint production at its state-of-the-art facility in Yanbu Industrial City in 1985 to help meet demand for decorative and protective paints. Jotun soon established a second manufacturing plant in Jeddah's industrial city adjacent to its head office that, together with Yanbu, has a combined annual capacity of 40,000 tonnes of paint. More than 7,000 separate Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) are held at both plants, combined with increased warehousing capacity in Jeddah and Yanbu plus a brand new, purpose-built warehouse in Riyadh. Plant increases in Yanbu and improved utilisation has increased overall capacity.
Jotun's Dammam branch was established close to Dammam's First Industrial City to serve the requirements of the decorative and protective coatings sector of the Eastern Province. Jotun also has a branch office in Jubail Industrial City.
Corm-Coat Saudi Arabia Ltd. established a Jotun powder coating line in 1994 on Dammam's Second Industrial City with a licensed capacity of 7,500 tonnes to produce thermosetting epoxy and polyester powder coatings targeted at applications in the rebar, gas pipes, aluminium profiles, and air-conditioning units sectors.
Single source procurement is implicit in the Jotun supply strategy, backed by dedicated technical and sales teams to meet client requirements across the decorative paints, protective and marine coatings sectors.
''Although our core business in the Kingdom is decorative paints, comprising about 75 per cent of our turnover, protective coatings are becoming an increasingly important and developing market. Our technical teams are very active in protective coatings by penetrating this market and developing our position with our product range. For example, Jotun has about two thirds of the decorative and protective coatings business in Yanbu,'' said a Jotun Saudia spokesman.
''From the beginning, Jotun's product portfolio has always included a comprehensive range of sophisticated and conventional coatings for the decorative, maintenance, industrial, heavy-duty, onshore and offshore marine markets with a large number formulated specially for local climatic conditions.
''Also, as historically Jotun's international reputation was secured through its maritime associations as a supplier of high quality marine and protective coatings throughout the world, our protective coatings are second to none,'' he said.