NEW DELHI: Specialty chemicals maker Vipul Organics Ltd has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Switzerland’s Omya Group, giving the firm sole rights to sell Vipul’s pigment products across most of Europe, the company said on Thursday.Under the deal, Omya – a privately held minerals giant – will distribute Vipul’s SunTone ® and SunCoat ® pigment dispersions and powders across the European market, including the United Kingdom, Norway and several Balkan nations such as Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, and Moldova, but excluding Switzerland and Poland, the company said in a regulatory filing.The BSE-listed company said the partnership forms a core part of its international expansion strategy, with managing director Vipul P Shah describing it as “a key driver in enhancing our international presence and accelerating our growth trajectory over the next five years”.Omya, founded in 1884 and employing 9,000 people across 160 plants in 50 countries, brings a distribution network spanning more than 170 locations and a chain of regional warehouses and laboratories across Europe.Vipul’s SunTone ® range serves paint, ink, plastics, textile, rubber and automotive coatings industries, while the SunCoat ® line targets interior and exterior decorative coatings, paper coatings, detergents and shoe polish, among other applications.The Maharashtra-based manufacturer, which operates three production facilities and exports to over 50 countries, said the tie-up would give European customers local technical support alongside access to its pigment portfolio.