Roland Kraut is General Manager of the Performance Materials Division in Zurich. Within his BRI department, a team of specialists is involved, among other things, in the procurement and sale of raw materials and filaments for the brush and paintbrush industry. The department offers a wide range of products aimed at the production of brushes, brooms, and paintbrushes. In addition to natural bristles, hair and vegetable fibres, the product range also includes components, synthetic filaments, and finished products.

DKSH is well positioned with an international focus in the global, but small segment of the brush industry. According to Roland Kraut, “Our most important parameters are reliability in high quality and customer orientation in trade. Sourcing the best product quality and the desired quantities of raw materials, which we import from China or Mexico, for example, presents us with ever greater challenges. That’s why we always operate close to the market", says the Managing Director. We maintain very close relationships with our partners around the world and are valued by our suppliers as a solvent business partner. That is one of our great strengths.”

For more than 100 years, China has been the most important source of natural bristles and horsehair. For DKSH in Shanghai, Wang Yong is responsible for maintaining close contact with local producers. Together with Wang Yong, Reinhold Hoerz, DKSH’s senior sales manager for the brush industry, travels to this country as often as possible. He has been involved in the trade of products for the bristle and paintbrush industry for more than 30 years and is regarded as an experienced observer of market policy and economic developments. His aim as a product scout: always looking for quantity and quality at a competitive price.

He has long been aware of how economic policy changes in China over the last quarter of a century have affected consumer behaviour, and, indirectly, the much shorter growth of pigs and bristles. The changes are obvious; sourcing is a real detective story. The scarcity of resources, especially in lines of natural products such as pig bristles, has an impact on prices and delivery times", he says. "Long lengths are hard to get these days. In addition, producers in China are having more difficulty processing and preparing shorter bristles in a manner that meets the demands of quality. Scarcity and costly processing make the raw material more expensive. "However, there are still areas for natural filling materials that are not replaceable or interchangeable. The quality and durability of these products is unparalleled, and the discerning consumer is willing to pay a premium for them”, says Hoerz.

Wiesenstrasse 8,

8034 Zurich

Switzerland

Tel: +41 44 386 7272

US Distributor: Brush Fibers, Arcola

Think Asia. Think DKSH.

You will find us in Hall 30 Stand F45