The leader in architectural coatings in Trinidad and the Caribbean, Berger Paints has in its sights a simple goal, to be the preferred choice for colour options and quality products while safeguarding the environment at the same time. As one of five main paint manufacturers on the island Berger stands as the only organisation in T & T that manufactures a main line of Protective Coatings.

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PAINTING A PICTURE OF Success

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strengths and training needs, “These are reviewed and scheduled appropriately,” he says, “Also staff are moved laterally and vertically within the organisation as well as within group when suitable vacancies arise. This can only happen due to the constant training and development of staff.”

A main hurdle to overcome in this industry is finding the standard of person needed to join their team, “The Paint industry requires a unique technical skill set,” Dave explains, “Hence extensive on the job training is required in Operations while other areas such as sales, marketing and accounting are generic and easier to fit in.”

Berger Paints also proudly practises good corporate governance and continuously work towards protecting the environment and are ISO 14001 certified and assist in a number of charitable organizations.

With such a sure footed foundation, there are a number of advantages for clients and affiliates working with Berger Paints which include benefits like service via availability of product, “We can manufacturer to meet an urgent demand or the specific unique needs of the customer,” Dave explains, “In addition the customers always obtain the excellent quality products that have been used in countries with extensive oil, gas and petrochemical industries such as Bahrain, Dubai and Singapore.”

And, while the product and manufacturing expertise comes from a wide international experience the actual application is

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We spoke with Technology, Industrial and Marine Sales Manager David Battersby regards to their plan to maintain their position in the short term and enhance it on the long.

“Trinidad is the main industrial country in the Caribbean,” Dave says, “And we are on the way to becoming its main supplier of protective coatings.”

To achieve the greatest goals you have to have the right people working in your team, the latest technologies and methodologies become almost redundant if not for the skilled professionals working them. Berger Paints is a local manufacturer and as such provides employment to approximately 80 skilled and unskilled nationals, “We engage local contractors for repairs and maintenance to our plant and equipment,” Dave relates, “And export and contribute to earning foreign exchange rates while maintaining a strong hold on all of our talented staff. They are our most valuable asset.”

Training is an on-going exercise and all staff members are constantly in training to ensure the Berger Paints staff are constantly improving their knowledge and skill levels. Dave highlights that several international programs are made available for staff to complete online in areas such as technology , information technology and business management. In addition staff are trained in many areas such as supervision, management , ISO 9001 , ISO 14001 , auditing as well as safety to ensure Berger maintain their high standards in all areas of operations and keep all employees as safe and supported as possible.

Dave explains that individual staff development is taken very seriously and that all employees are appraised annually to identify

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performed by locally based technical experts that can provide free recommendations, specifications and advice.

Painting A PictureManufacturing of Architectural, Protective and Marine coatings

and the distribution of products to retailers and other users is their core activity, “Currently our manufacturing operation is a manual one,” Dave explains, “This will be changing to semi automated and moving towards automation.”

He goes on to say that their colour offering has been constantly increasing using a tint from base system and this will be replacing standard factory made colours as they are are working towards increasing the number of Dealer Tinting machines within the network throughout the Caribbean. And that as the customer needs continue to change Berger is ready to meet these changes by continuously changing their current products and introducing new ones into the market.

A high level of customer satisfaction is something that Dave is very proud of and says that its something that has become a point of pride amongst the company, “It is one of our key focus areas,” he says, “We make use of all the usual methods of assessing satisfaction

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including Customer Satisfaction surveys as well as measuring our service levels to the customer.”

As such, they conduct surveys to the various customer groups annually and use this information to place focus on key areas for improvement. Additional surveys are also conducted to understand the end consumer needs for new and improved products, and of their understanding of current products. Several field visits are made by management locally and from other countries so as to obtain feedback and make the discussions for improving customer satisfaction relevant.

Berger Paints do not believe in just getting a sale, but aim to satisfy their customer needs, “Our system is to follow up to ensure the customers are satisfied with the performance of our products and to build relationships with our customers,”

He also adds that they do surveys at their dealer outlets to understand the customer’s experience of their service and their painting experience as well.

Getting To The BestTo be the best there are several things that are done at a company

level to give Berger Paints Trinidad and Tobago a distinct advantage,

“It is important to know the position of all of our competition,” Dave explains, “Our team in head office analyse worldwide trends and conduct research and development in the formulation of new products or ways to improve products using new and improved raw materials or technology. This allows us to be ahead of the competition locally.”

“We also have regular meetings with customers formally and informally to directly determine their needs and engage heavily in marketing to keep our name in our client’s minds,”

Working With The BestA central team within the region do the sourcing of new

suppliers, new raw material or alternative materials to reduce the risk of becoming too reliant on a single supplier, thereby putting the entire supply chain at risk. As a policy Berger will approve several suppliers for any item/process and then obtain bids from each after which the final decision is made after a process of factoring quality, service and price.

“A large percent of the suppliers are not locally based due to non availability of the specialised raw material,” Dave explains, “While materials that can be sourced locally such as packaging are also

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purchased.”With the ongoing growth and development that has set Berger

Paints aside from their competition the future is a colourful and prosperous place. New products are being created to meet their customer demands in various coating sectors. For example they are expanding their processing system and capability to improve their customer service as well as implementing a Customer Relationship Management software.

“We want to further improve or decrease our impact on the environment by not only having more green products but going even further towards improving our operations to make it more green and environmentally friendly,” Dave says.

These changes will improve the efficiency and productivity of operations in Berger by improving their processing and reducing waste. Their Customers will be able to make direct contact with their other personnel other than their sales representative.

“Essentially, our customers will be able to enjoy an environmentally friendly product that is still of the same high standard they have come to expect,” he concludes.

“ Our customers will be able to enjoy an environmentally friendly product that is still of the same high standard they have come to expect.” David Battersby, Technology, Industrial and Marine Sales Manager