Vin Brereton is General Manager of both Dulux Protective Coatings and Fosroc® ANZ. An industrial chemist, he started his career at Dulux in Powder Coatings. He has served more than 35 years across various DuluxGroup® businesses and has led the Dulux Protective Coatings team for more than a decade.
How would you describe your role?
For me, leading the Dulux Protective Coatings team is about inspiring innovation and bringing out the best in our fantastic people.
My focus is on advancing our product range, coatings technologies and performance and continuing to exceed specifier, applicator and asset owner expectations.
What do you think makes Dulux Protective Coatings unique in the construction industry?
Dulux Protective Coatings is unique because we successfully serve the heavy industrial through to the construction and light industrial segments of the coatings market.
By continually investing in research and development (R&D) and product testing, we deliver the robust coatings solutions our heavy industrial clients need. Our growth across mining, transport, manufacturing, and infrastructure settings reflects our coatings’ proven performance.
At the same time, we offer construction clients a whole portfolio of protective products combined with easy access to ‘whole of project’ solutions via Dulux® Construction Solutions.
The expertise and service of our team is exceptional.
What do you love most about your role, and what are you most excited about in the near future?
One of the things I enjoy about Dulux Protective Coatings (and Fosroc ANZ) is that we contribute to creating and maintaining assets and infrastructure that we use or rely on every day, for example ports, tunnels, mine sites, water treatment & storage and iconic bridges that keep cities moving.
I love working with a passionate team who are motivated to deliver outstanding outcomes for our clients and partners. It’s a privilege to be part of the reputational growth of Dulux Protective Coatings (and also Fosroc Constructive Solutions products), as well as our growth in market share.
I encourage my teams to look ahead and to think long term. It’s this ‘future focus’ that has helped propel the Dulux Protective Coatings business and has underpinned our phenomenal growth in recent years – it comes down to our vision and long-term thinking.
What role does R&D play in product development at Dulux Protective Coatings?
Our investment in R&D has dramatically increased over the past 10 years, closing technology gaps so we can tailor high performing products that deliver on their promise. The construction industry for example is facing increasing compliance regulation, so we need to support our customers with solid evidence and third-party testing.
In your view, what is the top trend right now in protective coatings?
I am seeing a marked trend towards reducing labour costs. Partly this reflects the national labour shortage, but it also comes down to the desire to reduce overall project costs in the context of an inflationary environment.
We work closely with asset owners, applicators and specifiers to develop coatings systems that align with timelines and budgets, without compromising on the long-lasting protection required.
How is Dulux Protective Coatings addressing emerging protective coatings challenges?
We are seeing asset owners increasingly seeking extended maintenance cycles. Achieving these often comes down to coatings solutions that truly perform in Australian conditions - in particular those that can withstand our harsh corrosive environments and extreme levels of UV. Our products do this extremely well.
Prolonging asset maintenance cycles through coatings technology and expert product specification also helps us reduce environmental impact. Sustainability is an ongoing challenge for our customers - one we are committed to addressing through products and technologies that meet our own and industry-set sustainability objectives.
