Japanese company completes Sadolin paints acquisition in East Africa

The Independent

Nugent (Left) and Bramer addressing journalists at Namanve on Aug. 03. Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE |  Sadolin Paints Uganda Limited has been acquired by Kansai Plascon Africa Limited; a subsidiary of Japan based Kansai Paint Company, officials representing the two companies told journalists at the company’s...
US$10 million plant at Namanve Industrial Hub – outside Kampala city on Aug. 03.
Officials did not disclose the amount involved. Kansai has also acquired Sadolin’s operations in the rest of East Africa.
Chris Nugent, the Managing Director of Sadolin said that the company’s products and services will remain the same. “It is only the name that is changing,” he said, “Staff, products, price…will remain…the logo looks the same.”
He said that rebranding from Sadolin to the new name has started and will be concluded in the next six weeks.
Nugent did not share in detail the reasons behind the transaction when asked. “There were obligations that were not being met by our partners in terms of colors…,” he said.
Wim Bramer, the Managing Director of Kansai Plascon East Africa based in Nairobi, Kenya said that they embraced the acquisition because of the company’s good brand in Uganda in addition to their long term plan to expand their investments in East Africa and the rest of Africa. He also said that Uganda’s construction sector would grow much stronger than it is today as the middle class number increases. This, he said, would lead to increased demand for construction materials including paint.
“I am happy to announce that we bought Sadolin which has excellent staff,” he said, “We will bring in new technology to add value to the company,” Bramer said.
According to Nugent, Sadolin was established in Uganda in 1963 and controls over 60% of the paints market. Uganda has less than five serious paint companies.
Quick facts
Kansai Paint is a global company with major operations in Japan, China, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa. Its product offering covers the decorative, industrial, protective coatings and automotive segment. The company has research and development facilities in Japan, India and South Africa.