AN EAST Lancashire company has won a contract worth more than a million pounds to supply paint to Saudi Arabia.

Darwen-based Akzo Nobel Decorative Coatings secured the deal with Raghadan Commercial Establishment of Riyadh, who have showrooms in all major Saudi cities.

Azko Nobel's international business manager and controller Jan Qureshi, who led six months of negotiations with the import company, said: "This contract represents a significant boost to Akzo Nobel's business in the Middle East, where we already have good distribution for Macpherson, Permoglaze, Hadrian and Crown paints.

"It also continues our strategy of establishing trading agreements with major local partners to strengthen the company's international reputation for its decorative paints brands."

Managing director David Hills added: "This is by far the biggest international deal we have secured this year. We have been exporting our full range of products to the Middle East for 25 years but Raghadan is a totally new distributor for us."

The signing will take place at Crown House, Darwen, on Monday.

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