Kansai Paint Looks for More European Prominence

Despite the August 2026 approval of AkzoNobel’s intended pairing with Axalta Coating Systems, reports emerged over the summer of Nippon Paint demonstrating an interest in AkzoNobel’s decorative paints operations, which were confirmed and then rebuffed by AkzoNobel on the grounds of undervaluing the business of interest to the acquiring party.

And while that corporate ambition may not have succeeded for Nippon Paint, it has been strengthening its position in the European automotive refinish sector with the transfer of shares from Wuthelam Holdings to Nippon Paint as subsidiaries.

Hence, this month I’m revisiting the theme of Japanese paint companies in the EMEA region, since much is worthy of examination and update. Industry followers will be aware that Kansai Paint has been busily building up its hand in Europe as a major center for industrial coatings technologies (and embarking on a spot of rationalization too). Meanwhile, in Africa, a change of approach for the company is seen yielding brighter prospects there.

Kansai Paint Thriving through Industrial Coatings Developments

The long-term strategy played out by Kansai Paint as a more thoroughly global player reveals itself in the company’s latest financial data more clearly than ever. Recent years have seen Kansai recover from a sales dip to ¥66 billion in Europe in 2020 (COVID period: not especially unusual), increasing steadily and dramatically since then to ¥112 billion by 2022 and ¥ 156 billion, which can be seen from the clustered column chart. 

The chart also illustrates that the scale of European sales has grown to be much more aligned with those of Japan and India individually. Yet despite its astonishing European sales group over that period, the European operations reported a net loss of ¥ 979 million in 2024.

Source: Kansai Paint Integrated Report 2026

A summary approach of looking at its European development arrives in considering that Europe accounted for 16% of Kansai’s global sales in 2020, but 26% in 2024 – that’s a sixth to more than a quarter in a four-year window.

When considering the data according to segment, growth in the sales of automotive coatings almost doubled between 2020 and 2024 (moving from ¥90 billion to ¥176 billion). Also, there’s a noticeable increase in industrial coatings turnover – which had been the target of its acquisitions with a view to subsequent globalization, these increasing by about two-thirds from ¥102 billion to ¥168 billion between 2020 and 2024.

The company is currently in the midst of globalizing the technologies of the rail paint and coatings business from the Weilburger Group, and the same for its non-stick coatings technologies, which are being transferred even to its native Japan.

Growth in the architectural coatings sector can be seen flattening out over the period of 2022 to 2024.

Source: Kansai Paint Integrated Report 2026

All of these figures, which have been published in Kansai’s latest annual report, highlight the company’s current strategy and position in its 18^th Medium-Term Plan, which is focused on the globalization of the company’s activities. 

The report outlines Kansai’s plans for more growth in the rail coatings sector; although the company is prominently positioned for supplies in the railway OEM sector, good future prospects are to be found by tapping into more of the rail maintenance and refinish markets – and since Kansai already has a strong background in refinish coatings, this is an attractive opportunity for the company to capitalize on. Rail coating demand is being driven by increased urbanization and greater demand for efficient public transport.

In the ACE coatings sector, which Kansai paired with rail coatings to form a new division last year, the company boasts a full complement of chemical technologies (ED, liquid and powder) which play into final formulation selection in achieving everything that needs to be encapsulated in brand identity; this is a key reason for Kansai’s ongoing success in the ACE coatings sector around the world.

Now it’s building on that position by globalizing its technologies in this area, such that it can overcome regional variations and shortfalls, thereby offering a supremely consistent set of technological offerings globally.

Just recently, the company’s Kansai Helios operations in Central Europe had announced a restructuring in the Adriatic region, which would amount to a gradual transfer of its Chromos Boje I Lakovi manufacturing operations in Zagreb to its other facilities in Serbia and Slovenia. This is expected to happen slowly over the coming years.

Furthermore, Kansai Paint has also recently acquired the remaining 50% of Polisan Kansai Boya (in Türkiye) from Marmara Holdings, according to disclosure reports from both parties. Kansai Paint and Nippon Paint have both strengthened their presence in Türkiye over a relatively long period of industry history, since it’s an attractive country for decorative paints and automotive coatings demand, with Türkiye’s demographics favorably tilted towards the young.

Overall, Kansai now sees itself as eighth in a list of the world’s top paint makers and considers itself #9 in Europe. Sector-wise, it sees itself as #1 in the European rail coatings market. #1 in the European industrial coatings sector and #5 in the continent’s ACE coatings market.

The African Scene

Meanwhile, things are looking up for Kansai’s operations in Africa. Up until quite recently, Kansai has run its Eastern African and South African operations quite independently but is now working on the greater integration of those operations and finding greater success in cultivating them together under its ONE AFRICA program.

Kansai Paint reports that it is well-placed for tapping into the African paint and coatings markets from the demographic perspective (rapid growth of African population etc.) but for the near-term considers its African participation by sector to be limited.

The company’s Kansai Plascon operations give it an overwhelming lead in the continent’s market, and it’s #1 in Africa. It plans to tap into the favorable demographics with its strong architectural coatings presence, as increasing urbanization in Africa over the next 25 years will generate sizeable growth and demand in the long run, although some additions to its portfolio would help fulfill some broader unmet market demands that the company is aware of locally.

Considerable potential growth is being targeted in Africa’s high-growth markets such as Angola, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Ghana and Rwanda, and entry into some of the markets in the west and north of Africa is also not to be ruled out.