Tikkurila has established a fully-owned sales company TOO Tikkurila in Almaty, Kazakhstan, for marketing decorative paints under the Finnish Tikkurila brand and the Russian Teks brand. In the future, the company will also market Tikkurila's industrial coatings, which are now sold via local distributors only. Normunds Feldbergs has been appointed general director of TOO Tikkurila.

The goal of the new company is to improve customer service and extend the retail network by building up an efficient organization, setting up a warehouse and starting a local paint school. The first group of customers to be trained will be paint-shop owners and their assistants.

There are approximately ten shops selling Tikkurila's paints in Kazakhstan, and more shops will be opened continuously, the company said.