Paint with a purpose

Kansai Paint is environment-friendly, durable and ensures longevity Kansai Paint is environment-friendly, durable and ensures longevity

Syed Ameer Hamza, Chief Executive Officer, Kansai Paint Middle East, is professionally apt and exceptionally talented to lead from the front. His acumen and vision in the paint industry have won him laurels, and he is the face of the Japanese brand in the UAE and beyond, as he believes in customer preference to be his service objective, and at the same time ensures that his product is second-to-none.
He is humble to the core and is sound at judgment when it comes to enterprisingly analysing business prospects. In an interview with Khaleej Times, he spelt out the lighter side of his personal life, saying his academics are in philosophy and journalism. Hailing from Lahore, Pakistan, he says he started his career with American Express and then moved on to ICI Paint. Him joining one of the largest Japanese manufacturer of paints, Kansai, was owing to his being in the right place at the right time. Hamza says the 100-year-old company, Kansai, made its debut in the UAE in August 2014, and since then there has been no looking back.
The CEO was spontaneous as he mentioned the initial challenges that they had to face at the hands of an assertive market, and took pride in the fact that Kansai had fairly quickly established itself as a market player to contend with. "We paint 7 out of 10 cars in the world," he said, while pointing out the scale and scope of Kansai in the automobile industry.
Hamza elucidated various forms of coatings that Kansai offers such as automotive, energy reducing protective/water proofing, special decorative and last but not the least, anti-bacterial. Detailing out his approach, he said, "We started with our own application team, and it was quite beneficial to make an impact. We worked and stressed on quality, and that is our mark." Kansai now works with qualified application partners.
Japan's largest and most progressive manufacturer of decorative, automotive, industrial, protective and marine coatings company won the confidence of the customers, and was an instant success in the UAE, the Middle East and Africa.
The Kansai top man says, "We provide thousands of colours for paint as well as  coatings that have a purpose." He said that Kansai Paint had made great strides in introducing functional coating, one that reduces the impact of temperature by 10 to 15 per cent. "This ultimately is energy saving, durable and protective."
He especially mentioned Kansai's preventive health coating, which is quite popular in ASEAN and Africa in helping reduce the harmful effects of insecticides, such as mosquitos. He said the antiviral coat of paint was an ancient recipe modernised by Kansai, and is greatly in demand not only in Japan but even in Africa where HIV-AIDS is prevalent. It helps in reducing the impact of infection in the premises.
He also said that the Japanese brand is making inroads in public concentration places such as airports, etc., where antibacterial and antiviral paint coatings are good for public health. So is the utility of floor and decorative coatings that Kansai has redefined.
The regional CEO of one of the world's top 10 paint manufacturers said that the intention is not just merely to make money, but to serve the society. A beautiful and protective layered colourful environment is Kansai's objective.
Hamza takes pride in the fact that Kansai's products have a longevity lifespan and are quite competitive. The reason is simple, Kansai invests heavily in Research & Development, and believes in an articulate human resource. "Our DNA is Japanese, we are quite very conscious of quality," he remarked.
He said that Kansai Paint believes in ensuring a higher degree of customer obsession. "While we never undermine our product, our job is also to educate the people without saying 'No' to them," the Kansai boss articulated his sales strategy.
About future plans, Hamza said that environment and functionality go hand in hand, and Kansai is professionally and product-wise the best in the market.
He stresses on the "sustainability factor", and terms it indispensable if the product and company have to remain in business. Responsibility towards customers, social engagement and environmental consciousness are other factors that Hamza believes form the nuclei of a happening organisation. "Our goal is to be the most trusted and sought-after company and product, and we are good at it by virtue of our commitment and transparency with customers," the CEO notified.
- mehkri@khaleejtimes.com

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