As the construction industry revives, paint consumption, too, will increase. There is room for growth in the new EU countries: whereas in Scandinavia paint consumption per head is about 20 litres a year, in the Baltic states it is under five and in eastern Europe only 10 litres.

The Tikkurila Group, the biggest paint company in Scandinavia, produces paints and coatings for consumers, professional painters and industry. With the enlargement of the EU Tikkurila sees new business opportunities. In addition to Russia, growth expectations have been focused in particular on Latvia and Lithuania.

The starting points for growth are good because experience of the Baltic states goes back years. The first steps towards the latest EU countries were taken in 1989, when the company set up a joint venture company in Soviet Estonia. Now there are production facilities in Estonia, Latvia and Poland and sales companies in Lithuania and the Ukraine.

Strong position in Poland

Tikkurila has been supplying the Polish furniture industry with paints and lacquers since the 1980s. Today Tikkurila is the third-biggest producer of decorative paints in the country. The acquisition of Akzo Nobel Coatings' general industrial finishes two winters ago strengthened the position of industrial coatings in the country.

"The Polish construction industry has been suffering from the poor economic situation in recent years. The competition in the lower price categories is especially tough. In spite of this, we've been able to increase sales steadily," says Janno Paju, who was responsible for Tikkurila's company in Poland until the end of April and became the head of Tikkurila Region Deco East in May.

Paju expects the EU membership to bring increased investment, new jobs and purchasing power.

Well-known brand in the Baltic region

EU finance, which will increase with the enlargement, may bring big building projects. Growth in the construction industry will be especially visible in industrial coatings and floor coatings," says Ari Kimmo, an export manager at Tikkurila Coatings Oy.

The Tikkurila product brand is very well known in Estonia. The reputation has come in particular from the supply of paints and lacquers to the local furniture and carpentry industries. About 80 per cent of the decorative paints produced under the Vivacolor name in Estonia and Latvia are sold in the Baltic states.

Tikkurila set up the first sales company in Hungary in 1991, in Budapest, and now there are more than one hundred dealers in the country. Tikkurila paints have been sold in the Czech Republic and Slovakia since 1994 via importers.

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>> Familiarity with local conditions is an asset (28.5.2004)

The new Tikkurila Symphony colour system was introduced successfully in 2003 in Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Photo: Tikkurila