Interview: The coatings industry in transition – global expansion and local challenges
The paint manufacturer Peter/Lacke is expanding its activities in Germany and India. Managing Director David N. Peter spoke to European Coatings Editor-in-Chief Damir Gagro about this.
Paint manufacturer Peter/Lacke is expanding its activities in Germany and India. At its site in Hiddenhausen, the company is expanding its premises with a new warehouse, which will have an area of 2330 m² and will also provide space for technical tests and offices in future. A new production facility is planned in India. The facility will have an administration building, a laboratory, a production area and a warehouse.
Peter/Lacke is on the path to growth. You entered the aircraft coatings market more than a year ago. Just recently, you announced your plans to expand in Germany and India. What exactly does this expansion look like?
David N. Peter: We owe our growth primarily to greater market penetration in the respective market segments and sales regions. We seem to be increasingly perceived as a highly localised and reliable partner – even in uncertain times. Our new market segment of aircraft coatings only plays a subordinate role in the current expansion, as patience is required here for the complex customer qualification processes.
The investment strengthens the German location. What made this step necessary?
Peter: The heart of our group of companies beats in Hiddenhausen and that is why we are consistently expanding the site. Here at the site, we have repeatedly experienced unsightly bottlenecks, particularly in terms of storage facilities. That is why we have now decided to build a new central warehouse. This will also enable us to convert existing storage space into additional production capacity in the future. However, I would also like to say openly that we would not be making these extensive investments in Germany at the moment if we were only active in Germany!
Your second expansion is in India, where you have been represented since 2007.What developments in the Indian market prompted you to build a new production facility?
Peter: Thanks to our strong team in India, we have been able to build up very deep local added value over the last 16 years. This has strengthened our market position and rewarded us with corresponding growth.
Will the new location complement the existing one, or will the activities in India be consolidated at the new location?
Peter: The new site is being built as a separate greenfield project and will offer everything a modern paint factory needs to be successful. In recent years, we have gained a lot of experience with the planning of a paint factory – particularly at our plant in Poland, which we completed last year. The previous rented plant in India will then be closed – only further decentralised warehouses will remain necessary due to the size of the country.
What challenges does the Indian market present compared to Europe or the USA?
Peter: The size and sometimes difficult transport options are a challenge. There are also some well-established local competitors. When we decided to enter the market with our own production site in India in 2007, we quickly realised that English and Japanese paint factories in particular had already been localised there for some time. We certainly underestimated this at first – compared to Europe and the USA.
