The Director General of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria(SON), Mallam Farouk Salim has reiterated the organisation’s commitment to standardise the nation’s paint industry in its bid to enhance the economic and social well-being of Nigerians.
Salim stated this recently in his remarks at the Technical Committee (TC) meeting to review the Standards of Paints, Varnishes and other Allied Products in Lagos.
The SON DG who was represented by the Group Head, Chemical Technology, Mrs. Theresa Ojoma,noted that “new terms in technological advancement in the paint industry has necessitated an elaboration of the existing standards”.
He explained that the Techincal Committee will conduct series of meetings to deliberate, review and amend 7 standards, to ensure the continuous relevance of the standards in meeting up with market demands.
The SON boss further explained that the paint industry is an important sector of the economy due to the high demand for real estate properties and the growing construction market, therefore it is the responsibility of SON as the nation’s apex standardisation body to ensure that the standards are reviewed periodically to keep up with the changes in technology, test methods and government policies in the sector.
The SON helmsman commended the effort of the committee and thanked them for bringing their expertise and wealth of experience to the development of standards for this sector.
He assured the stakeholders that SON will continue to work with relevant stakeholders to put in place policy frameworks and regulatory mechanisms to guarantee the economic and social well being of Nigerians in line with its mandate of “improving life through standards”.
The seven (7) standards relating to Paints and Varnishes deliberated on include ones for Nitrocellulose thinner; Nitrocellulose base thinner wood finishes; determination of odour emission from buildings; determination of density; determination of flash points and determination of raw materials for paint and varnishes.
