Dulux, Resene, Valspar win Christchurch paint contract

Wednesday 12th September 2012

Dulux Group, Resene Paints and Valspar Corp have won a $90 million government contract to supply 8 million liters of paint for use in rebuilding houses in Christchurch.

The paint companies will jointly supply the paint in one of the biggest such tenders ever awarded in New Zealand. That's enough paint for 100,000 houses requiring $10,000 to $100,000 worth of repairs, according to the Industrial Consumables Christchurch Reconstruction - Paint tender posted on the Government Electronic Tender Service website.

Based on 8 million litres of paint, "the associated dollar value is about $80 million to $90 million," Tracey Dillimore, spokeswomen for the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, told BusinessDesk. The ministry received five bids for the tender, two were non-compliant.

Paint has been a sticking point in the rebuild, with the Canterbury Master Painters Association labelling the original tender as "immoral and anti-competitive," for shutting out small businesses and erasing their margins.

Chairman Paul O'Donnell told BusinessDesk the association plans to oppose the government contract through Can Trades, a lobby group formed in July amid concern the government's management of the $20 billion-plus rebuild is slashing their earnings and favouring big business.

"This is totally anti-competitive and the total saving by the government is negligible," O'Donnell said.

Can Trades is made up of master plumbers, master painters and master builders.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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