Paints and coatings give color, comfort, and peace of mind everywhere in our daily life—in automobiles, office buildings, houses, and other large structures including bridges, the Shinkansen bullet train and other railroad vehicles, large machinery, vessels, and more. As a leading manufacturer of paints and coatings, Nippon Paint Holdings Group has played a major role in the chemical industry and continued to supply paint and coating products as needed to reflect an ever-changing society and environment. This year, we celebrate our 138th year of business as a comprehensive manufacturer of paints and coatings, boasting the longest history in Japan.
Without your great help and support, we could not have come this far. Please allow me to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude.
In October 2014, we transferred to a holding company structure. In December of that year, we strengthened our collaboration with our 50-year-long business partner Wuthelam Group and, by adding most of the joint ventures in Asia to the scope of consolidation, our group has expanded its business scale significantly. Currently, five major operating companies in the group play a leading role in our global business expansion, dealing in automotive, industrial, trade-use and marine paints and coatings, as well as surface treatments. We already have strong bases for dealing in architectural paints in Asian countries including China, where demand for paints and coatings is continuously expanding in line with the growing economy. We will continue to reinforce our strengths and further expand our product lineup.
In 2018, our group set out what we would like to be in 2030—that is “a leading company committed to continuously creating new value.” To achieve this, we rolled out the group’s medium-term management plan for 2018 through 2020 (called N-20) designed to attain the leading position in the segments and regions where we do business. In accordance with the plan, we have built an overwhelming presence in Japan and the rest of Asia and accelerated our global growth. Also that year, our group established a corporate governance system to separate management from execution more clearly than before. We are also disseminating our revised management philosophy to make it a compass to guide some 20 thousand employees worldwide in the same direction.
To our group, 2019 is a crucial year. It is the second and middle year of the N-20 three-year plan and we should accelerate our growth. We are in a tough market situation and our actions are being put to the test, but we take it as a great opportunity to prove our worth. Our group will continue to steadily implement the strategies and make the moves, as set out in N-20, and strive together as one toward what we would like to be in 2030.
With maximization of shareholder value in mind at all times and making use of the total power of the Nippon Paint Holdings Group as “Global One Team,” we strive to grow into a truly great global group that gets ahead of the world-wide competition.
Your continued guidance and encouragement would be much appreciated.
