Basco Paints, leading paint manufacturer and Colorificio San Marco the world’s number one company in textured paint based in Italy have announced their new partnership under which Basco will manufacture the San Marco range under license. The partnership follows a successful two year distributorship where Basco paints imported San Marco textured finishes from Italy and was its sole distributor within the Eastern Africa region.

San Marco brands are distributed in 85 countries and Basco is the first company to receive a license to manufacture the San Marco range outside of its own nine production facilities in Europe. This follows a rigorous vetting process and testing of the manufacturing process at Basco Paints to ensure that similar standards are maintained as in its existing manufacturing plants.

“Basco Paints is pleased to partner with San Marco which in addition to being family owned also shares many other values that are similar with us,” said Kamlesh Shah, Basco Paints Managing Director. He noted that, “San Marco had identified an enormous potential for textured paints in Eastern Africa region which would be tapped into through the partnership with Basco Paints.

The partnership will entail Basco manufacturing the San Marco range locally alongside technological support, service back up, marketing as well as regular training of Kenyan artisans to encourage ease of

use of the products. Mr. Shah noted that their decision was informed by market research findings that position Basco Paints as the most innovative paint company in the region.

San Marco International Sales Director, Mr. Pietro Geremia on his part expressed his satisfaction on the signing of the partnership agreement which signified a prime unexplored market for the company in East Africa. He added that, “San Marco is for the first time licensing a partner to manufacture under license, a major milestone for the renowned Italian market leader in paint.”

He further reiterated that the partnership meant that the costs of the San Marco range would be significantly lowered and hence be more readily available to the Eastern Africa market. San Marco is an 85 year old company based in Venice, Italy owned by the Geremia Family and now in its 4th generation

Colorificio San Marco, the parent company of San Marco Group, is a leading company in the production and marketing of paints and varnishes in Italy. Although San Marco company was established in 1962, the origin of the company goes back to 1930 to Pietro Geremia the first Generation of the family who sold paint products.

The company has nine production sites in different countries within Europe and has a portfolio of seven brands. The new partnership represents two family owned paint companies coming together to achieve a similar and mutually beneficial objective of selling the San Marco range in the region.