A craftsman’s humble endeavor in London develops into brand Jenson & Nicholson and years later the brand also accentuates its remarkable presence in the Indian market … Like every outstanding story, the journey of J &N has its fair share of highpoints and challenges; it has traversed through numerous events, partnerships, breakthroughs, expansions and inevitable changes!

The craftsman was William Kingham, the year was 1821 and he specialized in carriage varnishing. Soon, John Jenson joined Kingham in the enterprise and they produced quality varnishes. However, the partnership was brief and the company was solely spearheaded by John Jenson, after the partnership got dissolved.

Three decades later, Wilfred Nicholson joined the company. Subsequently, Jenson retired but the name Jenson & Nicholson of the company that had now become legendary, was retained. Known as Varnish, Paint and Enamel manufacturers , J&N company specialized in Copal Varnish for coach builders, decorators, grainers, etc., and Robbialac, a decorative compound.

In the year 1922, the company made its foray into the Indian paint market, with its first paint factory that was located in Naihati, West Bengal, India. The company became a Private Limited company in the same year.

The up gradation of the company into a public limited company occurred in 1953. Furthermore, an exclusive research and development laboratory was set up and the company’s objective was to manufacture paints and pigments, varnishes and allied products like weigh feeders, railway wagon weighing devices, belt weighers, solid flow proportioning and measuring devices on stream and automatic calibration devices.

A pioneering effort occurred in1955, when the company launched India’s first Plastic Emulsion paint under the brand Robbialac. J & N brand’s successful ventures in the Indian paint market accomplished a significant milestone, when the company established another manufacturing unit at Panvel, Maharashtra State, in 1964.

The induction of Mr. Arun Nehru, then 36 years old in 1970, as the youngest president & CEO of Jenson & Nicholson India Ltd., proved to be a momentous turning point in the journey of the company in India. His tenure of 17 years in the company marked strategic revamping and effective branding campaigns that ensured wider reach for the brand.

This advertising slogan of brand Jenson & Nicholson became imprinted in people’s minds and augmented the brand’s visibility and reputation among the general public. Mr. Arun Nehru was instrumental in this slogan becoming synonymous with the brand.

The company witnessed radical developments like the change of ownership from foreign nationals to that of Indian nationals in 1973 and a decade later the company reached another highpoint. The year 1983 marked a landmark achievement for the company, when it gained the honour of being the first paint company in India, to join the elite and prestigious Nova Paint Club, an association of eight exclusive paint companies, across the globe. Gaining access to latest technologies and modern manufacturing facilities that get developed in the paint industry were some of the benefits that entailed from the membership in this privileged club.

Over the years, new innovations in the form of new exterior emulsion paint for masonry surfaces were developed by the R&D department. Modernization, Innovation and Installation of new equipments provided the necessary leverage to increase its profit.

In 1986, Jenson & Nicholson became the first company in the organized sector to offer durable and environment friendly coating technology. A prominent milestone was achieved when the company made a breakthrough in Architectural Segment with the launch of ‘Insta colour’ in collaboration with Tikkurila Oy of Finland, in 1995.

The expanding market prompted the company to enter into technical collaboration agreement with M/s. Chugoku Marine Paints Ltd., Japan, one of the largest international players in Marine Paints container coatings and heavy-duty castings. Consequently, in 1996, a joint venture company was launched and named Chugoku Jenson & Nicholson Ltd.

In the momentous year of 2016 that marked a prominent collaboration in Jenson & Nicholson India Ltd’s (JNIL) journey, the company and Sheenlac formed the joint venture Jenson and Nicholson Paints Pvt. Ltd. (JNPL) to revive the brand and create a viable alternative in the retail Decorative Paint market in India.

In view of J&N brand’s gradually waning presence in the market, the joint venture strived to commence a challenging endeavor aspiring to re-instate the formidable reputation of brand Jenson & Nicholson in the retail decorative paint industry in India. Managed by Team Sheenlac, J & N today has managed to underline its strong presence in the paint industry. The strategic and continuous efforts along with strong leadership ensure that the brand scales newer heights and achieves greater milestones, with each passing year!