PERSONALITY PROFILE
Quietly making waves
By Nikki van Coller
Her company , Speciality Coatings , may only be in its fifth official year of business , but owner and MD Wendy Smith is certainly no stranger to the coatings industry .
If you haven ’ t personally met her yet , you will most likely
have heard of Wendy Smith . Her career in the paint and coatings industry spans almost 30 years , and while she has largely kept a low profile during this time , she has simultaneously been at the forefront of the industry .
Her perfectionist mindset and dedication to finding solutions means her reputation truly does precede her . She is also hellbent on changing traditional ways of thinking within the industry and is quietly ( and sometimes not-so-quietly ) facilitating a mindset shift to an eco-friendly way of doing things , particularly in the wood finish market . This is not without its fair share of challenges and resistance , but slowly but surely , Wendy is starting to see the ripple effect of her efforts .
“ More and more , I feel that my work is starting to show true meaning ,” says Wendy , “ and that it really is possible to find the sweet spot where premium quality meets forward thinking , earth-friendly innovation .”
Who is the woman making waves in a very traditional , maledominated industry ? Wendy is a forensic chemist with an illustrious career , now also a passionate business owner at the helm of her own coatings company , Speciality Coatings .
SPECIALITY COATINGS
Wendy Smith MD at Speciality Coatings .
Her career path has been solid and consistent . After studying forensic chemistry , she began her work life as an analytical chemist at Plascon , with a technical sales support function . But Wendy quickly realised that she is not a born salesperson and prefers to be in a lab coat – learning , analysing , discovering and problem-solving . Her growing enthusiasm for manufacturing then led her into production management and procurement , while still overseeing the laboratories in environmental impact and research and development portfolios .
In 1998 , Wendy joined Chemical Specialities ( ChemSpec ) as the technical operations manager . She remained with the company for the next 18 years as a technician , developer , researcher , leader , and trainer . Along with heading up research and development , she was the regional manager of the Northern , Western and Eastern Cape areas – some of the only regions still profitable at the time of ChemSpec ’ s liquidation .
Always a problem solver , when the company liquidated in 2015 , Wendy quickly pivoted and opened Speciality Coatings . Her aim was to continue to offer outstanding products , service , and advice to her ChemSpec clients , as well as to , over time , employ as many ChemSpec staff as she could . She currently employs seven and hopes to continue to increase that number as the business grows .
SPECIALITY COATINGS
As the name suggests , the company develops and produces specialised coatings , and does so for all industry sectors . Wendy ’ s passion for the environment , as well as for furniture and industrial / interior design , has also led to a partnership with Hesse Lignal Coatings , one of the largest producers of wood finish coatings in Germany ; Wendy secured a license to import their products to sub-Saharan Africa , and supplies Hesse ’ s low VOC polyurethane and acrylics , natural oils and water-based stains .
30 FEBRUARY / MARCH 2021 // www . timberiq . co . za