ECONOMYNEXT – Paint demand in Sri Lanka is picking up in stages due to the disruption related to Cyclone Ditwah, with some geographies recovering faster than others, said Nishal Ferdinando, CEO of JAT Holdings.
Cyclone Ditwah caused US$4.1 billion in infrastructure damage, with 24 percent of the total, or $985 million, spent on residential buildings and $562 million, or 14 percent, on non-residential buildings, according to an assessment conducted by the World Bank.
“In the paint industry, the disaster was less in Colombo in terms of damaged structures, but in Kandy the overall structural disaster is quite high,” Ferdinando said at an economic forum organized by First Capital Holdings, a unit of Sri Lanka’s Janashakthi Group.
“Therefore the demand for paints will pick up in Colombo in about two months, but in Kandy it will take longer, maybe only six months.”
Kandy district suffered most of the damage.
Of JAT’s 6,000-strong dealer network that sells paints and wood coatings, 300 have been affected by the cyclone, Ferdinando told EconomyNext.
Other than the three that were completely destroyed, other dealerships were now back in business. Some also managed to salvage their supplies, he said.
In other areas, the recovery in January was faster than the company expected. Whether it is sustained will also depend on the government’s recovery measures, Ferdinando said.
Authorities acted quickly to restore road connectivity, which was impressive, he said.
“We can get to those places in about three weeks,” he said.
Sri Lanka had a chance to “build better” with more resilient buildings in flood-prone areas, Ferdinando said.
“I think resilient designs are something we need to focus on,” he said.
“So, together with the government, I think the construction sector and the building materials sector can come together and come up with these resilient designs.”
The recovery of the construction sector may be slowed by a lack of skilled labor.
“I think the other aspect is the work part,” he said. “Because upskilling and labor demand during this time will be critical.”
JAT expanded overseas to countries including Bangladesh.
It also acquired New Zealand industrial coatings company Miratone.
“When I go abroad, I think there are categories, emerging markets and developed markets,” Ferdinando said.
“So JAT has already been in emerging markets like Bangladesh. But entering developed markets like Australia and New Zealand presents a different set of challenges in terms of compliance and operational culture.”
“Something that struck me is that we need to have confidence. We are not talking about the individual, but about the company and its employees, which means a whole new culture,” said Ferdinando.
JAT has competed in Sri Lanka for 15 years against the world’s third, fourth and seventh largest paint brands. All brands were produced locally and there was no “home advantage”.
“We are maintaining our market share and in terms of quality and innovation, we are on par with the best competitors,” said Ferdinando.
“We found that when it comes to compliance, innovation and quality, we can certainly compete. Only some competitors have much deeper pockets.”
“We need to find niches in the market, targeted products or strategic collaborations.”
JAT has established international partnerships to strengthen its technical capabilities, collaborating with institutions such as California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly).
“Through collaboration and out-of-the-box thinking, we can compete from a capital perspective.”
Some global brands had research and development teams of 1,200, while JAT only had 20. The firm was looking to artificial intelligence to reduce product development time.
“If you look at AI and implement it correctly, your two-year product development life cycle can be cut by one-third,” Ferdinando said. (Colombo/January 27, 2026)
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