Freeworld Coatings

Freeworld Coatings is a leader in the manufacture of Decorative, Automotive and Industrial coatings in Southern Africa. The origin of the company goes back 118 years, to when Herbert Evans arrived in the bustling mining town of Johannesburg with a cart, a ladder, some paint brushes and a level of ambition matched only by his integrity. Two years la... ter, in 1891, he had founded Herbert Evans (Proprietary) Limited, establishing his own paint manufacturing business. Success followed and in 1910 Herbert Evans launched the first "ready-mixed" colour paints in South Africa. In 1915, Parthenon became the trademark of Herbert Evans (Proprietary) Limited, the first of several milestones in his life, which also included the development of floor polish and a revolutionary "best elastic" carriage varnish that could accommodate the expansion and contraction of wooden carriage wheels and underworks. Herbert Evans' next step was into the automotive paint business in 1949, when he began preparing coatings under licence for Akzo Nobel. By this time the company had an entrenched reputation for innovation, quality and service and was ready to expand. The opportunity for expansion arrived and Herbert Evans (Proprietary) Limited combined operations with Chrome Chemicals, a partnership that formed the basis of the Plascon business was acquired by Barloworld in 1970. From its inception, the Plascon business grew steadily to the point where, by the end of the 1990s, it had operations in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zambia. International operations also included the United Kingdom and Australia, which were acquired between 1996 and 1999. By then it had also gained a small entry to China through a traditional distribution and export model via Australia. In 2001 the then Barlows Group changed its name to Barloworld, which led to the formation of Coatings, with a footprint focused on Southern Africa and Australia. From 2003, a new management team was in place and began implementing an aggressive positioning strategy, which saw a ...Read More