How a key acquisition helped Dulux thrive in the exterior cladding market

In 2005, after being in the exterior plaster and textures market for a number of years, Scott Robinson made the decision to launch his own company. This was the inception of Specialized Construction Products Limited (SCP), a specialist in exterior cladding solutions – a company that has seen a rapid rise in the industry since the mid-2000s.

Now, in 2022, SCP is one of Aotearoa’s largest manufacturers and providers of exterior plaster cladding systems and cement based preparation compounds – and the company’s success has resulted in other companies taking note.

One company that took an interest in SCP in the last few years was Dulux. So in late 2019, Philip Vodanovich, the National Commercial Manager of Dulux New Zealand, met with Scott for a coffee – initially for an informal chat about the supply of Dulux Acratex coatings to SCP.

“We ended up meeting a couple of times,” says Philip, “and the more I found out about the business, the more I understood that there was great opportunity for both businesses if there was an alignment between the two.”

After that, the conversations turned into serious discussions about a merger – and culminated in Dulux acquiring SCP a few years later. So what were the specific reasons behind Dulux’s decision to pull the trigger on acquiring such a heavy hitter in the industry?

“There are numerous reasons for the acquisition, but ultimately, it was the growth platform that would be achieved by combining the two brands – and it has enabled us to develop and deliver a very compelling product system solution to the residential and light commercial construction sector.”

With SCP joining, it also means Dulux now has a ‘complete construction solution’ for the exterior envelope in the residential sector – where previously the Dulux Acratex business predominantly found success in providing premium coating solutions to the textures market.

“As a combined entity, our two businesses are now complementing each other very well. It wasn't just about that ‘instant gratification’ of market share growth – but also the potential it offers us to achieve our ultimate goal, which is to be the number one provider of texture cladding solutions within the New Zealand marketplace.”

After the acquisition, one of the most pressing issues to tackle was the future branding of our new business unit. After doing extensive market research, both during the acquisition period and after, Dulux found that SCP had established ‘significant brand equity’ in the market – so the decision was largely based upon this fact.

“Ultimately we came to the decision to continue with the established Specialized Construction Products branding,” says Philip. “And this is a huge credit to the hard work that Scott and his team did in the last decade or so to really build that company up to where it is today.”

So what’s happened since the acquisition, and what’s on the horizon for SCP and Dulux now that they have joined forces?

Since the acquisition, Philip says Dulux has significantly increased the distribution for the SCP offerings: with over 40 distribution points under the Dulux Trade Centre network, SCP’s output continues to grow – and is set to do so in the future.

“Meanwhile, we’ve made the decision to merge the existing Dulux Acratex cementitious products, including plasters and renders, with SCP’s own products – and this has increased our manufacturing output by about 30% over the last 18 months,” says Philip. “We manufacture literally hundreds of thousands of 20 kg bags of cementitious products a year for use in the Zealand construction sector.”

One and a half years later, Philip and the wider Dulux team are as confident as ever about the decision to acquire SCP.

“The fit was right for both businesses back then, and it continues to be today,” he says. “The acquisition ultimately enables us to leverage the strength of the two brands to establish a business for the future. Our vision is to create products and services that are valued by our customers and the market they service – it’s about the retention of that brand equity, as well as the people who will drive our business forward over the years to come.”

Learn more about Dulux and Specialized Construction Products and their offerings.