FPS Alfa to represent Akzo Nobel as exclusive agent for protective coatings

FPS Alpha Ltd, a recently started joint venture company established between FPS Projects Ltd. and Optimus Alpha Ltd, recently signed an exclusive Agency Agreement with Akzo Nobel India Ltd. to represent their protective coatings business in Sri Lanka and the Maldives. 

These premium coatings are marketed by Akzo Nobel under their global brand of protective and marine paints namely, ‘International’. They include highly specialised paints that are used to cover and protect substrates over long periods, particularly providing long-term protection and decoration to concrete or masonry surfaces and corrosion and fire protection for steel. These paints are generally specified in major projects such as the Olympic Stadium in Beijing, China, also referred to as the ‘Bird’s Nest’, and the London Eye. 

Closer to home in Sri Lanka, their products have been specified for some of the largest and most iconic projects in the country. These include the Lotus Tower and the Waterfront projects.

Akzo Nobel needs no introduction in Sri Lanka, having retained market leadership for its range of decorative and vehicle refinish coatings for decades through its brands Dulux, Glidden and Sikkens which are all household names. Akzo Nobel is the largest coatings company in the world and has products and technology in its arsenal that spans almost every type of application requirement. They even have coatings that can be applied underwater. 

Headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Akzo Nobel employs approximately 46,000 people in around 80 countries. Yet despite its scale, Akzo Nobel is consistently ranked as one of the leaders in the area of sustainability. It is deeply committed to protecting the environment we live in and being an agent of positive change in the communities in which it operates around the world. 

Famous Pacific Shipping Lanka Ltd. is a globally recognised Freight and Logistics Company, affiliated to FPS Shipping in Hong Kong and having representations in over 100 countries and 4,000 ports and destinations around the world. FPS Sri Lanka is a member of the SAS Holdings Group, with a core business in shipping, projects and logistics with a strong global presence with a key portfolio of overseas partners. The shipping arm of SAS Holdings is the leader in Passenger Liner representation in addition to multiple port and off port services. The project affiliate, Projects FPS have partnered in major power, water distribution and civil construction projects for Shipping and Logistics in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives and Ethiopia.  

Projects FPS has now partnered Optimus Alpha Ltd. to establish a joint venture that plans to offer its project customers a full business partnering service that will span technical advisory and troubleshooting support, coatings consultancy, supply chain planning and logistics services, coating system specification, warranty management and even “supply and apply” support if required. 

Speaking on the subject, Gerald De Saram, the Joint Managing Director of FPS Alpha and the former CEO of Akzo Nobel Paints Lanka Ltd, said: “FPS Alpha will not be just another distributor of paint, but will instead focus on building long-term inter-relationships with its project clients, helping them to reduce costs and improve operational efficiencies in their businesses and thereby enabling their clients to focus on what is core to them.” 

De Saram, a highly respected industry icon with a huge pedigree spanning 35 years in the local coatings field, brings with him a wealth of experience and expertise to the new company. His counterpart at the helm of this new venture, Gihan Nanayakkara, brings the entire backing of the SAS Holdings Group to pull in expertise in shipping, logistics and distribution to complete this new and completely and innovative business proposition. 

“We see great potential in pulling together the respective skills of Optimus Alpha and Projects FPS, derived from different industries, but presently servicing the same projects separately. This gives us huge opportunities for improving overall efficiencies for our clients, enabling them to do more at less cost. FPS Alpha is determined to take service to another level, with a complete procurement, storage, delivery, technical and troubleshooting support and application in a single, competitive package. Product movement will be made visible online and ensure minimum stocks at site,” stated Nanayakkara. 

This concept for a distribution/agency business is refreshingly new and exciting and promises to bring major benefit to project owners, contractors and project management consultants alike. The new venture should go far given the present growth being experienced in project construction in the country and the ambitious plans that exist for project and infrastructure development in the future. It looks like FPS Alpha has staked its claim at just the right time.