Asian Paints

Asian Paints Limited, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, sells, and distributes paints and coatings for decorative and industrial use in India and internationally. It operates in the Paints and Home Improvement segments. 

The company offers decorative coatings for interior and exterior walls, metal finishes, and wood finishes; paints; wall coverings; textures painting aid; waterproofing; wall stickers; mechanised tools; adhesives; modular kitchens; wardrobes; bath fittings and sanitaryware; home décor products; sanitisers and surface disinfectants; furniture, furnishings; and lightings, as well as enamels and thinners. 

The company offers its products under the Asian Paints, Apco Coatings, Asian Paints Berger, Asian Paints Causeway, SCIB Paints, Taubmans, and Kadisco Asian Paints through a network of dealers and retail stores, as well as operates asianpaints.com, an online shop. Asian Paints Limited was founded in 1942 and is headquartered in Mumbai, India.

The company was started in a garage in Gaiwadi, Gurgaon, Mumbai by four friends Champaklal Choksey, Chimanlal Choksi, Suryakant Dani and Arvind Vakil. They all belong to Jain families and founded the company in February 1942. During World War II and the Quit India Movement of 1942, a temporary ban on paint imports left only foreign companies and Shalimar Paints in the market. 

Asian Paints took up the market and reported an annual turnover of 23 crores in 1952 but with only 2% PBT margin. By 1967, it became the leading paints manufacturer in the country. The four families together held the majority shares of the company. But disputes started over global rights in the 1990s when the company expanded beyond India. The disputes resulted in Choksey selling their 13.7% shares and exiting in 1997. 

Champaklal died in July 1997 and his son Atul took over. After failed collaboration talks with the British company Imperial Chemical Industries, Choksey's shares were mutually bought by the remaining three families and Unit Trust of India. As of 2008, the Choksi, Dani and Vakil families hold a share of 47.81%.

“We want to be an innovative, agile, and responsive world-class research and technology organisation that's aligned to future customer needs and catalyses the growth of the company across existing and future businesses.”

“Asian Paints' vision is to be a world-class, Research & Technology led organisation.”