The company that stepped into the paint segment with enamel and primer as it major products today competes neck to neck with some of the multinational paint dealers in the country with its wide range of paint varieties. [break]
Pashupati Paints so far has been able to tap the middle class segment by introducing relatively cheaper but higher quality paints. The company has managed to establish its stronghold across the country by setting up distribution units in Biratnagar, Pokhara, Butwal and Kathmandu.
Incorporated in 1984, Murarka Organization -- the parent of Pashupati Paints -- is achieving annual growth of 30 to 40 percent for the last many yeas.
“We decided to establish a paint manufacturing unit in the country after seeing strong influence of paints imported from India in the domestic market,” Abhishek Murarka, director of Pashupati Paints, told myrepublica.com. “Ashok Murarka and Atmaram Murarka -- the co-founders of Murarka Organization - were the ones who came up with the idea of establishing a paint factory in the country.”
The company imports raw materials from India and other neighboring countries and manufactures the paint in Nepal.
“We also use some local materials,” he added.
Danfe was the main launching brand of Pashupati Paints. The brand is still popular as economic segment enamel, Murarka said.
At the time when cement paint, enamel and white wash were the major traded paint segments in the country, Pashupati Paints introduced its own range of products and thus introduced the concept of paints in diverse way.
“Earlier, there was limitation in color shades as there were only about 10 color shades in the market. Today we have thousands of shades in the market and this has changed the whole concept of painting houses,” he added.
Saroj Luitel, country manager-sales and marketing at Pashupati Paints, said the paint industry has grown significantly over the last few years.
“Until a few years ago, the basic concept of painting was limited to painting a newly constructed house and the choice of paints largely depended upon the painter. Today, the concept of painting is more associated with lifestyle, decoration and pride,” Luitel added.
The paint industry in the country has been in tune with the boom in construction industry. With the passage of time, emulsion paints, texture finishes and multi finish designs with special tools have taken over the traditional painting concept.
“Technology and cultural differences have diversified the concept of painting homes and people have started associating painting with art,” he added.
Pashupati Paints has made a huge contribution toward infusing painting needs of people. The company today has as much varieties of paints as other multinational paint dealers in the country have. Products of Pashupati Paints are doing very good in premium segment paints (exterior and interior) in the market, Murarka claimed.
Murarka said ex-coat paint manufactured by Pashupati Paints is very popular amongst users and that they are the market leader in distemper paint. “Our product has encouraged people to change into emulsion from cement paint and distemper. It gives for four years at economical price,” Murarka added.
Unlike other companies which sell ready-made materials in the market, Pashupati Paints is selling products that uses similar raw materials and has same quality at 5 to 7 percent cheaper rates.
As a responsible domestic manufacturer, the company has also been contributing to raise awareness among consumers regarding the quality and originality of the paint.
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