Increasing Furniture Consumption Drives Demand for Wood Coatings in Kenya

Kenya will once again be hosting this year’s Woodtech Africa, an international exhibition for wood and woodworking industry. This comes at a time the country is experiencing a surge in demand for quality furniture products driven by an increase in population, urbanization and purchasing power, especially among the middle class.

The event to be held in Nairobi in November 2024 brings together companies that manufacture and supply coatings, veneers, and adhesives. It has also come when plans for the setting up of the country’s first furniture industry have been approved, hence opening more business opportunities for both local and international wood coatings manufacturers and suppliers.

Every year Kenya produces furniture estimated at US$452 million with the export market share at US$22 million, making the country the largest furniture market in Eastern Africa.

Across Eastern Africa, furniture valued at US$1.2 billion is consumed annually with 22% of the products imported into the region.
“Kenya’s furniture industry is well positioned to expand its furniture sales domestically and regionally to capitalize on the growing local and regional markets in East Africa, other parts of the continent, and beyond,” says a report by the organizers of Woodtech Africa.

Kenya, the report says, “has a logistically advantageous geographic position that confers it comparatively easy access to local, regional and international markets, a supply of raw materials from neighbouring countries that is relatively accessible, and a large workforce with a strong tradition of working in both the informal and formal segments of the furniture value chain.”

The demand for products such as upholstered, office, bedroom, wood seats, kitchen furniture especially among the middle class, is attracting investments from both local and international investors keen on increasing the output of wood-derived products as well as production of associated chemical solutions such as paints, adhesives, laminates among others.

For instance, Nairobi City County government, which runs the country’s capital, Nairobi, has approved a plan to set Kenya’s first furniture industry under the state-sponsored County Aggregation and Industrial Park project.

The project, part of the country’s Vision 2030, is meant to grow manufacturing and investments through various economic subsectors to create jobs, incomes as well as increase foreign exchange earnings.

“As a city, we will be undertaking a Wood Furniture Aggregation and Industrial Park and we are in the process of finalizing the project designs,” Maureen Njeri, Nairobi City County executive member, told reporters in Nairobi recently.

Currently, demand for wood coatings to quench the demand for interior design and decoration, particularly in residential spaces, hotels, and corporate offices, is met by diverse wood coating brands by companies such as Crown Paints, Basco Paints, Kansai Plascon, Duracoat, Sadolin Paints and Solai Paints.

Crown Paints, for example, is known for its timber master, varnish stain and wood finish brands while DuraCoat’s share of the market is through its WoodTech Timberex as Solai Paints touts its Nitro- Cellulose Wood Finish Clear solution in the Kenya market.

But since July 2023, there has been an addition to the competing brands in the Kenyan wood coatings market with the entry of JAT Holdings PLC, a market leader in wood coating in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and the Maldives.

JAT has made a successful foray into the African market with the incorporation of JAT Paints Africa Limited in Kenya, through a joint venture with Mayleen Corp – a Kenya-based diversified business house.

Mayleen Corp. is a Kenya-based diversified business group with operations spanning across diverse sectors encompasses infrastructure development, civil engineering, electrical engineering, manufacturing, design and construction of powerlines and EV public charging stations.

JAT is optimistic the move to invest in the Africa’s wood coating market, through its new partnership in Keny,a would bolster its “position as a leader in wood coatings across Africa, following its exceptional success in South Asia.”

“The establishment of JAT Paints Africa in Kenya showcases JAT Holdings PLC’s commitment to expanding its footprint in the East African region and emerging as a leader in wood coatings in Africa,” the company said in a statement.

The partnership enables JAT Holdings to manufacture and distribute the brand of Sayerlack Wood Coatings and other JAT products in Kenya and other East Africa markets. Sayerlack, an Italian origin brand owned by Sherwin Williams, the largest producer of wood coatings in the world, is the flagship brand distributed by JAT.

The company said the JAT range of wood coatings has gained traction not only in Kenya but also in Gabon and Nigeria as demonstrated by the response during a tour of the African region by the company’s top management.

“With the support of JAT Holdings, the industry is expected to transition towards more environmentally friendly options like Water-Based and other high-quality products which offer superior durability, scratch resistance, and moisture protection as well as Polyurethane coatings,” JAT’s statement said.

The company is optimistic “the shift towards a WB+PU offering signifies a positive step forward in adopting sustainable and high-performance wood coating solutions that benefit both the environment and consumers.”

JAT says it is introducing advanced technology to enable the African market transform itself from relying predominantly on traditional solvent-based coatings known as NC (Nitrocellulose), which may have environmental and performance limitations.

With the Kenyan government projecting a 10% annual growth in furniture demand, wood coating manufacturers and suppliers have a huge opportunity to improve their bottom lines by growing their domestic market share and making forays into other potential markets in Africa such as Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda.