Nippon Paint is recognized worldwide for manufacturing paint products since 1881. Nippon Paint China meanwhile has existed for just over 20 years, celebrating its 20th anniversary last year in September with the new slogan "Nippon Paint 20 years: Renew your world."

Wee Siew Kim is group chief executive officer at the Nipsea Group. Born in 1960, Wee joined Nipsea in 2009. He explains what first attracted him to Nipsea and the company's direction for the immediate future.

"What initially attracted me to Nipsea Group was its strong brand name and potential," Wee says. "The people behind the Nipsea Group are also an outstanding team to work with. I had a lot of time to interact with the founding family in Singapore. It is well known that Mr. Goh Cheng Liang is an open-hearted businessman with an upstanding reputation. He and his son continue to have a stellar reputation as honorable businessmen in the Asian community."

Wee said Nipsea operates locally in every country it bases itself in so as to fulfill the needs of each local environment. It's an essential part of Nipsea culture. The other defining aspect of the company is the "lean for growth" attitude. Wee explains this motto, saying, "[Nipsea] strips down all superfluity from our strategies, keeping a laser-like focus in our way of doing business. [Nipsea] makes sure to keep customer values in view at all the times and to maintain a very strong sense of organizational purpose and value."

Nipsea today operates in 15 countries, with 15,000 employees and over 30 factories. The company's annual turnover now stands at approximately $2.8 billion. It has cultivated a versatile range of products, including architectural coating materials as well as industry coating. Wee says that though there are opportunities in the Western hemisphere, he believes there is much success to be had in remaining focused on the Asian continent.

"We are very focused as a group and we excel at painting and coatings," Wee says. "That is what we know best and that is what we focus on. Our only other focus is Asia. We are in no rush to enter Europe or the US. We think that Asia is the best area for growth and naturally we want to stay very close to Asia."

Looking forward, Wee said Nipsea's biggest ambition for 2013 and beyond revolves around concentrating on growth in Asia. He sees this as a golden moment in history to seed success closer to home for the future.

"We believe that the right thing now is to focus on our own culture," he said. "We call it 'lean for growth' because by creating and nurturing the right cost structure and the right mind-set, we believe growth will come. If we do the right thing now, eventually when the market takes off, we will benefit from that growth." 

Global Times