The government is being urged to device incentives that will encourage local processing of raw materials needed to manufacture paint and lower prices to consumers and support affordable housing programme.
According to United Paints Limited Director Stephen Moche, Kenya can cut import bill associated with importing raw materials such as titanium used to manufacture paints by propping local industries to process the raw materials and meet local demand.
“Titanium, which is a component used widely in the paints industry, is mined in large quantities in Kwale, but what are we doing to that raw titanium to be able to produce these other products? We need to start thinking about how to do value addition,” posed Moche.
According to latest data by the Kenya Bureau of Standards, Kenya titanium ores exports in the second quarter of the year to June 2024 rose to Ksh 4.4 billion from Ksh 4.2 billion over the same period last year.
This was as a result of increased volume of exports which increased from 71,848 tonnes to 76,366 tonnes over the same period.
This come amid calls to the government to prioritize clearance of pending bills which has derailed operations of local manufacturers who has supplied various products.
According to Moche, the paint manufacturing sector over the last few years has faced significant disruptions in the value chain affecting the firm’s operations. With many of their products being sold to some of the government institutions, the issue of pending bills has for instance affected their cash flows.
Similarly, as they import quite a number of their raw materials, the fluctuation of the Kenyan shilling against the dollar has also affected their operations.
“Just the other day, the dollar hit the Ksh 160 exchange rate and you still have to import products, so what happens then and you still want to sell your products at a competitive price. It is a very delicate balancing act,” explains Moche.
Since establishing operations in 1997, United Paints has installed modern equipment including point of sale tinting machines that have the ability of producing over 10,000 different colour shades based on the customer preference.
“Many of the clients we interacted with were telling us they couldn’t use certain paints because they perceived them to be for the high end. Meanwhile, the ‘high end’ who used these paints needed an alternative that was high quality but affordable,” states Moche.
United Paints currently employs more than 100 people with plans to take up additional workforce for a new plant in Nairobi County and expand its business-to-business model.
“We have ambitious plans to grow further into serving the larger East African market, where we will be able to take advantage of the expanding construction industry,” posed Moche.
Through its B2B model, the firm sells directly to hardware shops, whom they equip with tinting machines.
