The SA Paint Industry Training Institute recently conducted an intensive technical training course for a major paint producer in Mauritius. It was the first training provided outside the borders of Southern Africa by SAPITI, the training arm of the SA Paint Manufacturing Association. Toni Stella, SAPITI’s National Training Manager, conducted the five-day training for about 30 employees of SAPMA member, Sofap Ltd, based in the industrial area of Coromandel, on the west coast of Mauritius.

“Sofap is totally committed to training and its entire staff, ranging from colour chemists, sales personnel, colour match operators, even top management, attended the intensive training we staged at the company’s premises,” Stella stated. “The training was both theoretical and practical and also included sessions at the company’s retail sales outlets. Certificates of attendance were issued at the end of the course.” Stella said the extraordinary thirst for knowledge by all the students was very gratifying, particularly coming after the apathy towards training of employees encountered by SAPITI and SAPMA in South Africa. “Even the MD, Mr Eric Adam, attended some of the sessions, as did the company’s Human Resources manager, Ms Linda Georges. SAPITI would like to offer further training to such a dedicated organisation and there is already talk of us perhaps revisiting the island for training of Sofap’s retail staff next year.”

He said the Sofap retail outlets were most impressive, particularly the Sofap flagship store at the Bagatelle Mall near Port Louis, which offered the consumer some state of the art facilities generally not yet available in South Africa. “The company is also extremely concerned about the environment and has introduced several eco-friendly features such as the recycling of water to cut down water consumption, and compartmentalised production areas to reduce the spreading of dust in the factory environment,” Stella explained.

Established in 1988, Sofap locally produces and markets the Permoglaze range under licence to Crown Paints in the UK. It is also the sole Mauritian distributor of AkzoNobel, Sikkens, and Dynacoat automotive  paints; Altex Coatings marine paints; Earthcote decorative textured coatings; DSM seamless floor coverings; and Permofix tiling adhesives.