ICI or CIC Paints?

CIC/ICI Paints Managing Director Gerald De Saram sent the following response after a reader of The Sunday Times FT, who is also a shareholder of Chemical Industries (Colombo) Ltd, in a letter raised an issue over the company branding in (CIC):

ICI Paints is one of the largest paints and surface coatings companies in the world and a part of the British chemical giant Imperial Chemical Industries PLC, or ICI. The changes in our shop branding, that your reader has correctly eluded to, is part of a process begun some years ago to link the name of ICI more strongly with it’s brands in the local market.

The reasons for doing this are compelling in that it highlights to our customers the enormous technical heritage that goes into each and every can of our product. Hence when a customer chooses Dulux, they buy “confidence” in addition to a world-class product.

We also sought to highlight the safety and product stewardship strengths that are inherent in the name of ICI. We wish to assure the shareholders of CIC Ltd that there will be no changes to the revenues earned by CIC Ltd from the paints business, and also therefore of the value that CIC Paints (Pvt) Ltd generates for CIC’s shareholders, as a result of these branding changes.
The name CIC was retained by the new company from it’s inception in recognition of the enormous equity this had amongst paint customers, following the excellent work done by CIC in building this business to gain market leadership. Prior to the joint venture ICI’s paints business in Sri Lanka had been handled by CIC as its associate, which had been largely responsible for building a strong presence in the local market for ICI’s brands, that included Dulux, Pentalite, Weathershield and Duco. CIC continues to play a significant operational role in the day-to-day activities of CIC Paints even today.

CIC Paints (Pvt) Ltd is not listed in the Colombo Stock Exchange. The company has only two shareholders namely, CIC and ICI. Of these CIC holds 60% of the voting and non-voting shares issued and is the largest shareholder.

With the formation of the new company, CIC’s paints business was transferred to the new company. Through this agreement, ICI has retained management and operational control of the paints and surface coatings business, by virtue of its greater ownership of voting shares specifically, and CIC Paints has became a distinct entity and a full member of the ICI Paints World Group.

This has ensured for the company, a continuity of technical, commercial and marketing support, as well as free access to the enormous knowledge base held around the world by ICI. The change also meant that the local company came under ICI’s umbrella of global standards for responsible care, product stewardship, corporate citizenship and ethical business conduct, all of which are rigorously and continuously monitored and implemented.