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ABOUT US
HISTORY
Freeworld Coatings is a leader in the manufacture of Decorative, Automotive and Industrial coatings in Southern Africa. The origin of the company goes back 118 years, to when Herbert Evans arrived in the bustling mining town of Johannesburg with a cart, a ladder, some paint brushes and a level of ambition matched only by his integrity. Two years later, in 1891, he had founded Herbert Evans (Proprietary) Limited, establishing his own paint manufacturing business.
Success followed and in 1910 Herbert Evans launched the first “ready-mixed” colour paints in South Africa. In 1915, Parthenon became the trademark of Herbert Evans (Proprietary) Limited, the first of several milestones in his life, which also included the development of floor polish and a revolutionary “best elastic” carriage varnish that could accommodate the expansion and contraction of wooden carriage wheels and underworks. Herbert Evans’ next step was into the automotive paint business in 1949, when he began preparing coatings under licence for Akzo Nobel. By this time the company had an entrenched reputation for innovation, quality and service and was ready to expand. The opportunity for expansion arrived and Herbert Evans (Proprietary) Limited combined operations with Chrome Chemicals, a partnership that formed the basis of the Plascon business was acquired by Barloworld in 1970.
From its inception, the Plascon business grew steadily to the point where, by the end of the 1990s, it had operations in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zambia. International operations also included the United Kingdom and Australia, which were acquired between 1996 and 1999.
By then it had also gained a small entry to China through a traditional distribution and export model via Australia. In 2001 the then Barlows Group changed its name to Barloworld, which led to the formation of Coatings, with a footprint focused on Southern Africa and Australia. From 2003, a new management team was in place and began implementing an aggressive positioning strategy, which saw a number of acquisitions and activities take place.
Barloworld Coatings entered the colourant and related systems segment of the market in 2004 through the acquisition of ICC in South Africa. ICC supplies colourants not only to the Group, but also to various other paint manufacturers across the world.
Coatings further extended its product and technology profile through its entry into the complementary products segment, with the purchase in 2005 of Hamilton Brush, a supplier of premium brand brushes and rollers.
This was followed by the acquisition in 2006 of Midas Earthcote, opening the door for participation in the cementitious and textured coatings segment.
During 2006, our position in the automotive sector was strengthened through the acquisition of Prostart Investments, a distributor of refinish products. In 2007 Coatings concluded a BEE transaction with Izingwe, in terms of which Izingwe acquired an equity interest in Prostart Investments.
Our entry into the Chinese market brought with it a unique opportunity to explore an alternative technology to deliver paint to the market. This cutting edge technology is currently undergoing commercial evaluation and may provide Freeworld Coatings with the ability to enter various new and existing markets with a lower system cost.
In 2007, a significant part of the Australian assets was sold, which resulted in a significantly lower asset intensive presence in Australia but left Coatings with the potential to take up future opportunities in the Asia Pacific region - more fully described in clause 2.4.7.2. of the Pre-Listing Statement.
Today, as the leading Southern African contender in its category, Freeworld Coatings is capable of providing full systems solutions and approaches across sectors ranging from Architectural Coatings to Performance Coatings and related products.
Ranking in the top 35 coatings businesses in the world, we have the experience, product offering and access to leading edge technology needed to further grow and successfully expand our presence in chosen markets and geographical locations.