JOTUN, one of the world’s leading producers and distributors of paints and powder coatings, says it is committed to introduce and develop latest and customised innovations that have been tailored specifically to fit its customer’s demands across the globe.
“With the rapid increase in infrastructure taking place in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East, we have witnessed robust growth for our protective coating solutions and are focused on demonstrating to our customers how our protective coatings portfolio can increase efficiency, longevity and optimise performance on their offshore assets oil and gas infrastructure projects,” says a company spokesperson.
According to him, Jotun’s unmatched solutions, product offerings and solutions have allowed the company to work on projects with some of the region’s leading entities including Saudi Aramco, Gasco, Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority, Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company, Kuwait Oil Company, and Sonatrach. Its global customers include Gazprom, ExxonMobil, BP, Shell, Statoil, Saipem, Petronas, British Gas, Gaz de France, Eni and Total among others.
“Our solutions have also been selected for some of the most iconic projects that include the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Burj Al Arab, Dubai Metro, Dubai International Airport and also the World’ tallest tower, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, UAE,” the spokesperson informs.
The company has established a strong presence in the Middle East since 1974 when it set up Jotun UAE. Since then, Jotun has expanded dramatically throughout the region by continuously investing in establishing three state-of-the-art factories in Abu Dhabi and Dubai for decorative paints, marine paints and powder coatings. It is also the first paint manufacturer in the region to be awarded the ISO 9001 certification.
Today, Jotun has more than 2,500 employees and a network of more than 1,800 dealers in the region. Furthermore, it says it is staffed with highly trained and experienced technical advisors; providing key assessment, analysis and assistance for all coating requirements.
“We have strengthened our presence in Saudi Arabia by vastly expanding our existing manufacturing facilities in Yanbu Industrial area. We also have three factories in the UAE and have plants in Oman, Yemen and Egypt. We have also placed an emphasis on entering emerging markets and increasing our sales capacity in North and East Africa,” he adds.
The company offers a variety of products and industrial solutions:
• Jotun marine coatings is the world’s leading provider of marine coatings to ship owners and managers active in the new building, dry/dock and on board maintenance markets;
• Jotun powder coatings is a leading supplier of powder coatings to industry players in appliances, furniture, building components and pipelines; and
• Jotun protective coatings sells products to industry players in offshore, energy, infrastructure, hydrocarbon processing and storage tanks.
Keeping in mind how oil and gas exploration and production facilities in the Middle East and Gulf area operate under the harshest climate and environmental conditions, Jotun’s range of protective coatings are used across a number of sectors including:
Oil & Gas: Liquid and powder coatings are produced to protect internal and external surfaces of oil pipelines. Jotun has also developed specialised products for pipelines operating at high temperatures that reach up to 650-deg C (302-deg F), steel requiring low application temperature cure and aggressive environments such as subkha and water reinjection.
It also engineers coatings that are designed to protect the external surfaces of gas pipelines and internal flow efficiency. Jotun’s product portfolio of liquid and powder coatings suits a variety of service conditions and environments including corrosive service.
Refined Products: These products and solutions protect surfaces of pipelines carrying refined products including aviation fuel, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), petrol, kerosene, diesel oil and fuel oils.
Jotun has been at the forefront of developing products that are specifically suited to the Middle East’s harsh climate conditions. “Our experience and presence in the Middle East that spans more than three decades has enabled us to produce a diverse portfolio of conventional and specialised coatings. We have incorporated the latest technological developments that have enabled us to cater to the various product segments and demands of the different markets,” he says.
According to him, Jotun’s key markets have recently undergone an increase in the number of projects across energy, and infrastructure sectors, which has created an accompanied demand for eco-friendly paints and coatings. To cater to this growing need in the market, Jotun has invested over $25 million into research and development (R&D) initiatives dedicated to developing key advanced eco-friendly products and solutions.
“We’ve also reiterated our commitment towards driving sustainable practices with the roll out of our ‘GreenSteps’ initiative – a five point goal programme that benchmarks our product offerings and conforms to world class green building standards,” he explains. The ‘GreenSteps’ initiative encompasses reducing energy consumption, carbon footprint, waste and use of solvent or Volatile Organic Content (VOC), as well as hazardous materials.
Jotun’s direction towards adapting environmentally friendly and more sustainable solutions has also landed it a number of prominent development projects, including Masdar, MIST 1A, Bateen Park, Bloom Gardens, and The Ritz Carlton.
