Sterling International eyes East African market

Sterling International Limited, manufacturers and exporters of specialised automotive, industrial and marine paints, is to export some of its products to the East African market before the close of the year.
That is after it had successfully entered the Asian market, which is considered the most competitive in the retail and wholesale of Sterling’s line of products.

The company, which manufactures coatings, paints and ancillaries for automotive, marine and specialised oil and gas exploration and production equipment, already holds a substantial market share in West and Central Africa.

Its Director, Mr Arun Patil, however, told the GRAPHIC BUSINESS on October 17 that the company was now set to widen its export market to, among other things, add value to the business while increasing the export earnings of the country.

Sterling International was established about three years ago as an export-oriented entity by Mr Abhay Salunkhe, a technocrat in the automotive, industrial and marine paint manufacturing business.

It is a Free Zone Enterprise and has since been honoured by various institutions for the quality of its products and quantity of its exports.

The recent one is a platinum award at the 23th National Awards for Export Achievement organised by the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA). That was after it had won gold awards on two consecutive years.

“These awards are encouraging and they really motivate us to do more,” Sterling’s Director said.

He, however, explained that those honours were as a result of the commitment of the company’s management and staff to produce products that meet the expectations of their specialised customers.

He also commended the GEPA for its efforts at finding markets for exporters and further called for it to be continued.

Sterling currently employs about 80 people and Mr Patil was optimistic that figure will increase substantially should the company’s plans to expand its product line and markets work out.

He also hinted that the company was now considering setting up contact offices in other countries while maintaining the one in Accra as the headquarter of the brand.

By Maxwell Adombila Akalaare/Graphic Business/Ghana