Jotun Paints, one of the world’s leading producers and suppliers of paints, has drawn out an aggressive growth strategy for the region.

The company aims to capture a larger market share of the booming LE1.2 billion ($216 million) Egyptian paint market.

The paint manufacturer plans to target high-end customers by showcasing its Lady brand of interior paints at the upcoming ‘Le Marché Exhibition’, an annual home furnishings and accessories exhibition, slated to run from November 29 to December 2, 2007, at the Cairo International Conference Centre, Egypt.

The company is the first in Egypt to introduce the ‘Do-It-Yourself’ (DIY) concept, with a view to encourage clients to bring their ideas to life.

Mohamed Hashem, decorative marketing manager, Jotun Paints, said: “Through our participation in high profile events such as the Le Marché Exhibition, we are expecting to steadily move towards achieving our goal of giving enthusiastic home owners inspiring ideas by providing a broader range of specialised products.”

The paint company is also set to feature special painting techniques in their stand, which aims at encouraging homeowners to visit any of the six Inspiration Centres in Egypt.

The ‘Lady’ interior paint range has been the result of two years of extensive research conducted through Jotun’s Dubai-based regional R&D laboratory, with significant inputs from Jotun Norway.

Jotun has been active in Egypt since 1987 and claims to be a market leader in providing fully integrated protective, decorative, and powder coating solutions. Over the years, Jotun paints have been used in a number of high profile projects around the world including the Eiffel Tower, Burj Al Arab, China Opera house and Nile City Complex.

Locally, Jotun has been part of a number of renowned projects, including luxury hotels, offices and residential developments and landmarks such as Sofiltel El Gezira, Nile Hilton and Fairmont; the new head office of HSBC in Cairo; Emaar prototype villas in Cairo; the Mena House Oberoi Pyramids and the Grand Museum in Giza.

Founded in 1926 in Norway, Jotun established its presence in the Middle East in 1974, with Jotun UAE.  Ever since, Jotun has expanded throughout the region and is the first paint manufacturer to be awarded the ISO 9001 certification. Jotun has consistently invested in state of the art factories including the recently opened plant in the Al Quoz area of Dubai, UAE - the biggest worldwide for Jotun. - Trade Arabia News Service