The UK’s coatings and finishes sector welcomed a new brand onto the scene last summer – and it hails from Slovenia, by way of Japan.
In August last year Oxfordshire-based International Applications Ltd (IAL) announced it had been appointed UK distributor for Helios Industrial Coatings. IAL, which is active in the automotive and industrial coatings sectors, is part of Eguchi Iwao, Japan’s leading supplier of automotive and industrial paints, coatings, sealants and adhesives.
Eguchi Iwao is a strategic partner of another Japanese coatings giant, Kansai Paint, which is recognised as one of the world’s top 10 paint manufacturers and includes Slovenia-based Helios in its group of companies. In its turn, Helios is known in western and eastern European markets for coatings for a multitude of sectors including industrial, car refinish, rail – and wood.
Thus far, Helios has been an unfamiliar name in the UK but its foothold in Europe meant that it made sense to bring the brand here and IAL, as part of the “family” and an established name in the UK, was the natural choice for the exclusive distributorship. The attraction for the parent company was the relative buoyancy of the UK coatings market.
“Prior to the 2008 recession the UK market was huge. It’s nowhere near where it was but the market has been on a steady growth path over the last 10 years,” said Tarjinder Singh, IAL business development manager.
“We had a very successful launch of the Helios brand at the Surface World exhibition in September and we are already selling Helios powder coatings, rail coatings and industrial wet paint systems into the UK market. And we are looking at the electro coat and wood market as the way forward.”
Although IAL has supplied the UK wood coatings market in the past – it supplies Sikkens coatings, for example – it had only “dipped its toe” into the sector and so launching Helios products is an exciting challenge for the company.
It is targeting a range of end uses, from door and window manufacturers to bespoke kitchen and bedroom makers, to boat builders.
“In short, the wood coatings sector will be very important for both IAL and Helios,” said Mr Singh.
IAL’s usual route to market is through its ‘360 division’, which specialises in the supply of line side products direct to the end users’ manufacturing lines across the various market sectors it serves.
“We don’t just sell cans of paint,” said Mr Singh. “We are a solutions provider and look after customers from the beginning of a production process to the end, including the paint systems and all consumables.”
IAL also works with tier one suppliers, including fellow distributors who may have a strong presence in a particular geographical region and in these cases IAL will not sell direct to that distributor’s own customers.
“We welcome other companies who are interested in our product base,” said Mr Singh. “Ultimately it is about being able to work together to sell the Helios brand.”
Helios has a coatings solution for everything, he added. “The range of products is flabbergasting. They [Helios] say if you need something specific just ask us because we’ll have it somewhere in the system. This is one of the reasons we’re so happy to work with them.”
Other key reasons are the technical support and the emphasis on research and development. IAL’s 360 team already has a strong grounding in both paints and application technologies but back-up is there if needed.
“I’ve been in the paints industry for the best part of 30 years and alongside me our managing director Marcelo Faria worked with PPG for 20 years and our technical service manager Geoff Hall has many years experience in very different technologies and industry sectors, from cars and aerospace to the wood sector.
“We also have Sean Lewis, who again has worked in many sectors and is predominantly working in the automotive sector for IAL and Steve Reilly in the rail sector. Our product manager Nilesh Gopal knows our range like the back of his hand. Together we have about 150 years experience between us and we work as a team to provide customer solutions.
“On top of that we have the support of our partners, so should the need arise Helios will send people over from Slovenia to resolve an issue. This technical support is key to our customer focus.”
The product range includes both interior and exterior coatings and it’s the former where the most potential is seen in the UK.
“We have both solvent-based and waterbased products and, of course, for the large volume manufacturer we have fast process driven UV technology, too,” said Mr Singh.
Helios also makes a large range of polyurethane and acrylic systems, both in solvent-based and water-based technologies, which have low smoke and fire retardant treatments within the formulation.
It also has a range of stains and ‘patinas’. The four basic stains can be mixed and matched to create any colour a customer specifies, while the patinas offer a range of colours including metallic and special effects.
The acrylics are available as UV or waterborne curing.
The range continues with sealers, again in solvent and water-based iterations, and lacquers and topcoat enamel systems in a variety of technologies from PU to acrylic and nitrocellulose.
“Nitrocellulose is still heavily used in eastern Europe but is fading out in the UK where most people have moved over to PU, acrylics or water-based,” said Mr Singh.
The BIO IMPREGNOL range of oils and waxes, again available from a wide colour palette, is also in the portfolio.
Helios’s exteriors range – Aquavita – is designed for aesthetics and durability. UV protection is built into the formulation along with anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. Decking, cladding and garden furniture are seen as target markets.
Top of customers’ wish lists for coatings are innovation, faster drying and good environmental credentials, said Mr Singh, the latter largely due to legislation.
“When water-based coatings were first introduced about 15 years ago the market wasn’t ready for it – and neither were some of the paint companies,” he added. “Some of the first water-based products were horrendous in terms of application. But now, REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) has encouraged the big paint companies to spend money on R&D and we have waterborne technologies that will perform exactly the same as solvent borne in terms of ease of application, drying time, sandability and durability.”
As well as staying on the right side of REACH, Helios’s coatings Aquavita and Heliodur conform to IOS MAT 0066 (IKEA STD) and to EN 13501 European Classification of reaction to fire.
“IKEA is an important customer for us and they have their own specific test criteria that we have to conform to. These criteria have become an industry standard in some countries. Also, we use chromate-free and lead-free pigments, so all our products are Toy Safe certified as well.”
Rather than launch new products onto the market at defined intervals, existing coatings are developed and improved on organically by the R&D department, in partnership with the customer base.
The key areas being worked on are water-based and UV technologies.
“I believe these will be the next big things for the UK market,” said Mr Singh. “On in-house tests we performed we saw some really unique properties and believe that when our customers see them they will want them straight away.”
