I will Restore Peacock Paint as Leader in Paint Market – Jose-Javier

Peacock Paint Company, Ikot Ekan in Etinan Local Government Area, one of the ailing industries in Akwa Ibom State has ben revitalized and put to full operation by Governor Udom Emmanuel. In this interview with ISRAEL NTIENSE, the General Manager of the company, Mr. Jose-Javier speaks of his preparedness to restore the image of Peacock paint as a household name in Nigeria among other sundry issues. Excerpts  

May we know you and what you  are here in Nigeria to do?
I am from Spain and I am here in Nigeria to Manage the Peacock Paint Company in Akwa Ibom State. My target and focus is on developing the business in order to expand to the whole Nigeria and possible beyond the coast of Nigeria in a shortest possible time. This is the main target I have for the time being.  Looking at the facilities we have at the factory, I think we are at a very good starting point. Our job is made easy at this point because with my experience and what we have on ground in terms of personnel and facilities, we going to expand and place Peacock Paint as a leader in paint market in Nigeria.

Peacock Paint before it became moribund was a household name in Nigeria, what are your plans to restore the glory of the company?
Yes, I have been told that Peacock Paint at a time was a sought after in Nigeria. We are ready to restore the image and glory of the company and bring back the Peacock paint as a leader in paint market. We are going to restore confidence of our customers and build a brand that will be distinctive in paint market. 

In doing this, we are going to focus on some key areas. For instance, we have to improve in the quality. I am not saying that the quality now is not good enough but we can improve even more. We are going to improve our standard in order to show customers that we able to work with procedures and achieve high quality of the produce.  

Secondly, we are going to improve on technologies. We are going to bring in new technologies that will help us improve the final produce, taking into account that everything in the world is painting. So we are going to add up all that to give our customers better solutions.

What is your assessment of Paint Business in Nigeria and how can you assure Nigerians of unique product different from what we have in the market?
I may not know much about the paint market in Nigeria. But I know about the world paint market as the President of Spanish Paint Technician Association. I know what the paint business all over the world holds. It is a much matured market, where new things are needed. We have to be better than our competitors both in quality and price because this is very important for our customers. To get more market for our produce, we need better paints not only in the quality but in the price. So one of the strategies is to improve Peacock paints in quality and price and in this way we will get bigger market, as well as expand our coast beyond the shores of Nigeria. 

When are we expecting the Peacock paint to commence full operation?
The company is already on full operations. The facilities are in place for improved operations and soon we are going to show people the improvement we have made in order to achieve bigger sales. I want to tell Akwa Ibom people that I am here working and I will do my best to put the company at the top. My job is to ensure that company stands out in terms of quality and become accessible by our customers over the Nigeria. This is our target and our commitment.

In terms of employment, how are you going to create opportunities for Akwa Ibom people?
As we are starting, we are going to work with the personnel we have on ground now. In due course, we are going to hire people because we are going to expand the business and spread our business produce across the nation. So we will need people and of course our priority is to employ people from the community and Akwa Ibom State. The company has the capacity to employ so many people because we are committed to improve and expand the business of Peacock Paint and to take over paint market in this country. I can therefore assure you that many people will be hired to work in the company. 

What is your assessment of Akwa Ibom State and what the Governor has done in the State?
I must commend the Governor for what he is doing to industrialize the State. Most importantly, I thank him for giving me the opportunity to serve in the State. I have seen a very high level of commitment on the part of the Governor on this project and I am delighted to be involved as well.  I can assure you that we are going restore the glory of Peacock paint as a sought after in the comity of paints in Nigeria.