Brouns & Co, who make linseed paints in Sherburn-in-Elmet, near Tadcaster, has opened a local stockholding and distribution centre in New Hampshire and created a new US website LinseedOilPaint.com, with billing and payments direct from its US-based subsidiary.
Company founder Michiel Brouns said: “The remarkable rise in demand for linseed paint and coatings in Europe has now been outpaced by the US market, where architectural styles mean that there is greater need to preserve and protect both historic buildings and new structures that lean into the importance of natural components and carbon footprint.”
The business has seen a tenfold increase in demand from the US since it began shipping initial orders to North America in 2015. It views the market as a key area for growth, driven by a combination of consumer preferences for natural products, regulatory changes and the huge volume of wooden homes that are built and maintained in the US.
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US customers who previously ordered direct from the UK website and had goods shipped internationally, can now buy direct from Brouns’ US business and have orders delivered straight from the firm’s warehouse in New Hampshire, reducing shipping times and costs within the US and Canada.
Michiel said: “The passion we have for the quality of our product means we don’t want to compromise the quality of our ingredients and the triple roller manufacturing process that we have developed in the UK.
“Holding stock in the US as order quantities rise means we can meet the demands of local and national government contracts, as well as enhancing the service we offer private and corporate buyers who are increasingly looking for cleaner, greener, higher performance alternatives without forever chemicals.”
Michiel with some linseed oil (Image: Supplied)
A published expert on the application of linseed paint, and a global authority on its history and production techniques, Brouns is working with American architects and preservation bodies on numerous projects in the US, including the restoration of President Washington’s Mount Vernon summer home in Virgina.
Michiel added: “We’ve been working closely with Royal Institute of British Architects in the UK and US for several years, and also the American Institute of Architects, who are meeting the demand for more information and training on the use of these products and techniques that were almost completely lost over the last few hundred years.”
“Establishing our US venture, warehousing and a dedicated web presence is the natural next step, and we’ve also appointed a US-based CFO to lead the business.”
Further details of the new US website and products can be found at LinseedOilPaint.com.
