Siam Hardware partners with Japan painting-tool maker

Maru-T is an established brand in Japan with a 100-year history. It claims to be a trusted brand among Japanese professional painters for high quality and standards, durability, versatility and innovation. Maru-T says it continually develops its technology to enable professionals to achieve a flawless painting finish.
This is the first time Maru-T has entered a market outside its home country, entrusting Siam Hardware Industry to launch the brand in the Thai market, to source sales and distribution channels and to engage in marketing activities.
“There are a lot of choices in the home paint market. Paint manufacturers are constantly using technology and innovation to improve the quality and finish of their paint, but not the painting tools,” said Pimpida Achariyasilp, business development executive of Siam Hardware Industry. “In past years, we have not seen any new innovative painting tools to be used with all these new paints. We see that there is a market for more customised and high-grade brushes and rollers to produce a much better paint finish.”
Pornthep Achariyasilp, president of Siam Hardware, said: “Both Siam Hardware and Maru-T Ohtsuka are family-owned businesses that have passed though successive generations from strength to strength. Maru-T has been in Japan for 100 years, while Siam Hardware Industry has been a trusted brand among consumers for decades. “We follow a very strict quality-control process. We believe that Maru-T is fully confident in our high working standard and the potential there is in the Thai market.
“This is the first time that we are distributing products that are not our own brand, but we are confident of Maru-T’s exceptionally high-quality products.
“This is also a very good opportunity for us to expand our markets and reach out to new customers, so we are very happy that Siam Hardware has been entrusted to be Maru-T Ohtsuka’s official partner in distributing its products in Thailand.”
Siam Hardware Industry has been in business for more than 50 years and is a major manufacturer of metal tools and parts used in construction, handyman’s tools, and gardening tools for both in-house brands and as an original equipment manufacturer for the domestic market as well as for international markets.
Siam Hardware Industry says it applies a rigid quality-control process and innovation to meet the needs of customers, and this is one reason for the partnership with Maru-T Ohtsuka.
“Thailand is a very interesting market for premium-grade painting tools, and there is great potential, as no one has yet introduced this range of products to the Thai market,” said Shinichiro Waki, director of Maru-T Ohtsuka Corp.
“We are very confident that Thai professional painters will be satisfied with Maru-T products, as we have spent [many] years developing these top-notch painting tools. It is also a great opportunity for us to have a partner that is experienced in a local market like Siam Hardware Industry.”
Pimpida said that in the early stages, the focus would be on building brand awareness and educating customers on how these tools can make a difference to their work. Siam Hardware Industry has invested about Bt10 million in this partnership.
The products that will be available at this stage include micro-fibre paint rollers (7- and 9-inch), lint-free painting rollers (also 7- and 9-inch), long-hair painting rollers (7-inch), Toji brushes (hand-made, traditional Japanese painting brushes, available in sizes from 30 to 60millimetres), heavy-duty scrapers, and extension poles.
All of these products, with prices starting at Bt90, will be available from mid-August at paint stores and in SCG Home Mart stores in Bangkok.