Guwahati, Feb. 21: Chennai-based Sheenlac Paints, which is the largest paint company in the south, has joined hands with paint maker Jenson and Nicholson to enter the Northeast.

Sheenlac Paints last year had formed a joint venture with Jenson and Nicholson to form a new company called Jenson and Nicholson Paints Pvt. Ltd.

"It is a win-win situation for both the companies as both companies will leverage each other's strengths to enter the Northeast," K. Sridhar, group CEO, Sheenlac Paints Ltd, told The Telegraph.

Jenson and Nicholson is the country's second oldest paint company whereas Sheenlac Paints is south India's largest paint company and ranked sixth among the top 10 paint companies in the country.

Sridhar said the company will enter the Northeast market by April and soon have a warehouse in Guwahati.

"We are targeting a Rs 100-crore market in the Northeast in the next five years," he said, adding that it would enter the market through Jenson and Nicholson products and using its own distribution network.

He said there was always a plan to enter the Northeast and they were looking for a suitable partner which was found with Jenson and Nicholson.

The Rs 35,000-crore paint sector in the country is growing by 12-13 per cent annually and the per capita consumption in the country is a little over 4kg and low compared to the developed nations. The paint market in the Northeast is around Rs 4,000 crore and has a single-digit growth.

Sheenlac Paints has four manufacturing facilities and has a dealer network of 15,000 touch points. The company is the first to launch a non-alcoholic wood polish and the first to introduce thinner in plastic PET bottles.