Berger Paints India Ltd is the second largest Paint company in India with a consistent track record of being one of the fastest growing paint companies, quarter on quarter, for the past few years. ^[2] Headquartered at Kolkata it has 10 manufacturing units and over 110 stock points. The company additionally has an international presence in 4 countries – Russia, Poland, Nepal and Bangladesh. ^[3] With employee strength of over 2,800 and a countrywide distribution network of 25,000+ dealers, Berger is established in the sector with a varied portfolio of paints and tailor-made customer services. ^[4]

In 1770, Louis Steigenberger moved from Frankfurt to London to sell a Prussian blue colour, which was made using his own formula. He then changed his name to Lewis Berger and by 1870 Berger Paints was selling 19 different pigments, including black lead, sulphur, sealing wax and mustard. After the demise of Lewis Berger his sons took over the business. Sherwin-Williams, an American company bought control of the company in the 1900s. By the 1940s Mr. Hadfield set up Hadfield's (India) Ltd., a small paint company in Kolkata on 17 December 1923. Towards the end of 1947, British Paints acquired Hadfield's (India) Ltd and thus British Paints (India) Ltd was incorporated in the State of West Bengal. ^[5] In 1951, sales offices were opened in Delhi and Mumbai and a depot was started in Guwahati. This resulted in sales rising to Rs. 6 million in 1952. In 1969 Berger, Jenson Nicholson Limited, UK bought British Paints (India) Ltd. This marked the beginning of Lewis Berger’s legacy in India - which the company would later take forward to enviable heights. ^[6] D. Madhukar took over as the Managing Director in the year 1973. Under him the company became the fastest growing company in the paint industry as sales figures reached over Rs. 160 million by 1978. ^[11] The 80s and the 90s saw the launch of a large number of new products like emulsions and distempers. In 1991 UB group sold the company to Kuldip Singh Dhingra (Chairman) and Gurbachan Singh Dhingra (Vice Chairman). ^[11] Mr. Subir Bose took over as Managing Director on 1 July, 1994. ^[11] Mr Bose retired on 30 June, 2012, handing over the reign of the company to Mr. Abhijit Roy, who's the current Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. ^[11]

Apart from operations in Russia, with a production facility at the Berger manufacturing unit at Krasnodar, Berger has additionally expanded its footprint in Nepal by setting up a second unit. Today Berger’s sister company in Bangladesh is the dominant leader with over 65 percent market share. In keeping with the Company’s dynamic growth plan, Berger has additionally acquired Bolix SA of Poland, a leading provider of External Insulation Finishing Systems (EIFS) in Eastern Europe. As Berger continues to grow internationally additionally continues to be the second largest paint company in India.