7. OVERVIEW OF JAT HOLDINGS LIMITED 7.1. Overview of JAT Group Having commenced operations in 1993 as a family-owned entity, JAT has grown in leaps and bounds within a short span under the visionary leadership of the Founder and Managing Director of JAT, Mr. Aelian Gunawardene, whose dynamism, direction, acumen and diligence have resulted its endorsement as one of the most recognisable, most powerful corporate brands in Sri Lanka. The Company has extended its footprint in South Asia as well with Bangladesh and the Maldives being strong hold of JAT’s wood coatings business. As the undisputable leader in the field of wood coating solutions, it excels as the apex producer of decorative paints, brushes and paint related chemicals. While enjoying a dominant position in the timber coating market with an enviable share of c. 55% in water base and PU wood coating along with its strong presence in South Asia has enabled JAT to be the largest authorised distributor for Sayerlack branded wood coating (as per Sherwin-Williams). The Company is also the leader in the luxury kitchens segment with the brand SEA Bauformat having secured and completed iconic projects such as Altair Residential Project, 447 Luna Tower, Prime Grand, 606 The Address etc. with the expertise and experience of a strong inhouse team of technical experts, quantity surveyors, draftsmen etc. JAT is the exclusive franchisee for manufacturing and distribution of world renowned and Sri Lanka’s number one brush brand – Harris. JAT is also the exclusive agent for Armstrong ceilings by Knauf ceiling systems having supplied to iconic projects such as the Defense Head Quarters Complex which is the largest ceiling project in the country, Shangri-La Hotel – Colombo, The Waterfront Development etc. The Company is a dominant force in the ergonomic office furniture segment exclusively representing Herman Miller office furniture which is branded as the Best Product Design in the Office Chairs category and having supplied clients such as the London Stock Exchange Group, Millennium IT, British Council, HSBC etc. Adding to its ever-growing portfolio of products, JAT represents other renowned brands Borma Wachs – wood cosmetics, Horous – office furniture, Sika – admixture and waterproofing chemicals, Dasso – bamboo flooring along with a range of its own brands for key product categories including WHITE by JAT – brilliant white paint, Brush Master – brushes for wood coating, Masters – wood coatings, J Chem – solvent based paints and Euro Metallic – metal ceilings. With a view to broaden its export offering, JAT ventured into Bangladesh in 2001 and is now the market leader for wood coatings in Bangladesh (an emerging economy that has posted an average GDP growth rate of 7.8% from 2017 to 2019). The Bangladesh market has been growing constantly and has reached a revenue of LKR 1.6 Bn in previous years. JAT has in place a dedicated team with technical officers in Bangladesh who are driving the sales and supply to some of the leading furniture manufactures such as Hatil Complex, Partex Furniture Industries and Akthar Board Industries. JAT has also established a growing footprint in India, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Seychelles etc. for its wood coatings. JAT is the leader in wood coatings in the Maldives as well and is supplying to industrial customers such as Morph which is the industrial arm of Prestige Constructions Group. In India and the Maldives too, JAT has dedicated teams driving the operations and sales. The sales force of over 100 frontline members and the dealer network of over 5,000 marks the island-wide presence of JAT and the excellence in local market reach has been awarded at the National Business Excellence Awards in 2019 as well. JAT has its own manufacturing plant in Kahathuduwa and the state-of-the-art head office complex situated at Thalawathugoda in Colombo district. Adding to its cumulative list of accolades, JAT was ranked amongst LMD’s Top 20 Conglomerate Brands in Sri Lanka by Brands Annual 2020, an independent survey conducted by Brand Finance, the World’s largest brand valuation and strategy consultancy firm. The Company is also recognised with a rating of A+ with a stable outlook affirmed by ICRA Lanka Limited (Moody’s Investor Services Group) as a direct result of its strong brand name, dominant market positioning in Sri Lanka in the wood coating industry, its growth potential together with the company’s strong financial position. JAT also secured the Gold Award for trading sector at the National Business Excellence Award in 2015, 2018 and 2019 while securing the Bronze Award for overall excellence as well as 2nd Runner up in the extra-large sector in 2019. With a staff strength of 350+, innovation has been at its core which is affirmed by the introduction of water base wood coatings to Sri Lanka and the development of award-winning concepts/products such as Petal Paint. JAT Holdings Limited – Initial Public Offering 31 7.2. Vision, Mission and Values of JAT Vision Be the brand of choice to the finishing, living and furnishing industries in South Asia Mission We are committed to building long-term relationships based on integrity, performance, value and exceeding customer satisfaction. We will continue to meet the changing needs of our clients with our highest quality and innovative solutions delivered by the most qualified people. We are more than a conglomerate. We are a dedicated team striving to bring growth to our community, helping to maintain existing businesses and assisting our clients in making their dreams a reality. Values of JAT • In depth knowledge of the entire business • Leadership at all levels • Complete customer satisfaction • Continous Improvement and Innovation Figure 7.1 Vision, Mission and Values of JAT 7.3. Key Milestones 1993 2000 Partners with Armstrong, a Access Projects Limited global leader in ceilings & Incorporation of JAT First company to introduce flooring. Partners with SEA Group Holdings Limited Water Base Coatings in Sri (Germany) introducing Lanka & region. Thereby Partners with Herman state-of-the-art Kitchens and transforming South Asia’s Miller, the global leader in Wardrobes 1995 wood coating industry ergonomic office furniture thereby entering the office Partners Sayerlack, the global First company to actively furnishing market 2018 leader in wood coatings promote environmentally JAT records the highest friendly low VOC products 2013 export turnover at over USD 1996 JAT successfully enters the $10 Million,highest project Indian market turnover of Rs. 701 Million First Company to introduce 2001 PU wood coatings which Enters the Bangladesh market Completes the construction revolutionized the wood with Sayerlack, JChem & 2015 of a 45,000 sqft Head Office finishing market with complex Borma Wachs JAT Holdings was ranked innovating wood 9th in Top 10 Conglomerate coatings moving away from Brands in Sri Lanka 2019 NC coatings 2005 JAT acquired Harris exclusive Enters Maldives with Sayerlack agency 1998 & Borma Wachs 2016 JAT Introduced Petal Paint First company to introduce JAT Commences construction of new head office islandwide training on wood 2010 finishing for applicators, 2020 architects, institutes, wood JAT launches Brush Master, the 2017 Introduced the Experience working industries. To date premium paint brush made Centre concept over 20,000 professionals in with DuPont filament Enters into a Chemical Leasing Agreement with MAS Capital South Asia are trained away Ventured into the East African (Pvt) Ltd, demonstrating from NC coatings market 2011 its commitment towards long-term environmental Reaches Rs. 1 billion in sales Introduced SIKA 1999 sustainability waterproofing to local market Partners with Tarkett, Rebo JAT Partners with Borma Ranked 30th on ‘Most and Daso, global leaders in Launched WHITE by JAT Wachs, Europe’s largest wood Respected Entities’ published environmentally sustainable cosmetics producers. by LMD wooden flooring and bamboo Furthermore JAT became the decking Acquires Eurometalic Ceiling first company to introduce manufacturing unit from Water Base Putty into market Figure 7.2 Key Milestones of JAT 32 JAT Holdings Limited – Initial Public Offering 7.4. Structure of JAT Group Current structure of JAT Group is presented below. JAT HOLDINGS LIMITED 55% 100% 100% 100% 98.37% 50% Brush Master Worldwide JAT Exports JAT Exports JAT Global (Joint Venture) (Private) Resins & (Private) DMCC (Private) JAT - Sino Limited Chemicals Limited Limited Agri (Private) (Private) Limited Limited Figure 7.3 Group Structure of JAT Group 7.4.1 Subsidiaries and Joint Ventures of JAT Table 7.1 Subsidiaries and Joint Ventures of JAT Subsidiary/Joint Venture Description Brush Master (Private) Limited Incorporated in July 2010, JAT at present holds 55% of the shares of the company. This company manufactures paint related brushes under the Brush Master brand exclusively for JAT Holdings. Worldwide Resins & Chemicals A fully owned subsidiary of JAT, it was incorporated in March 2015. It mainly (Private) Limited provides raw materials to the paint industry. JAT Exports (Private) Limited A fully owned subsidiary of JAT incorporated in July 2018, it is the local export arm of JAT. Its primary function is the export of locally manufactured wood coatings and related products to Bangladesh market. JAT Exports DMCC The company was incorporated in United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) in July 2019. JAT Exports DMCC is a fully owned subsidiary of JAT which carries on offshore trading of wood coatings to Bangladesh, the Maldives, East Africa etc. The business model is primarily entrepot trading by nature. JAT Global Private Limited The company was incorporated in India in March 2016. JAT holds 98.37% of the shares of JAT Global Private Limited. Its focus of business is in importing, trading and distributing JAT and Sherwin Williams products to the Indian retail, industrial market and distributors. JAT – Sino Agri (Private) Limited A joint venture incorporated in December 2020 in order to engage in agriculture (Joint Venture) and agriculture related activities, where JAT has a stake of 50% together with Sino Lanka (Pvt) Ltd domiciled in Sri Lanka.