As the art materials business becomes increasingly globalised, we have a clear responsibility to ensure that a share of the potential benefits flow through to our artists, our customers and our employees.

For artists, this means using our resources to create products that deliver better performance, not only technically and aesthetically but also in terms of health and safety. In particular, we aim to improve the quality and the value of products available everywhere, but especially in the developing world.We will exploit global media such as the internet to communicate with artists, providing them with technical information and support and listening to their needs. The result is that we will continue to offer brands with distinctive characters and technical features which appeal to the varying needs of artists in different countries.

For customers, we aim to provide proven quality and consistent service achieved through sustained commitment and investment.We work in close partnership with customers, helping them to grow their business in the long-term for mutual benefit. Awareness and demand are maintained and enhanced through our continued investment in new products, marketing initiatives and efficient, low cost manufacturing facilities. Above all, we are committed to being an easy, friendly – and profitable – company to do business with.

For employees, we strive to bring all workplaces up to the high standards traditionally offered in our longer-established European operations. A key element of this goal is to introduce strict health and safety procedures, together with fair employment terms and conditions. In short, we are working hard to ensure that our growth is accompanied by improved long term employment opportunities in all areas of the business, backed by strong training and development programmes. Over the last decade, we have proved that such initiatives for employees are perfectly compatible with improved efficiencies and heightened market competitiveness. There is every reason to believe that this trend will continue within the group.