CeramicSteel Case Study Whitemark Limited, New Delhi VISUAL COMMUNICATION SOLUTIONS HELP IMPROVE LEARNING OUTCOMES THROUGHOUT INDIA’S SCHOOL SYSTEM Manufacturer: Whitemark Limited, New Delhi Specialty: Supplying quality visual communication services across India Overview: As a distributor and manufacturer, Whitemark has established a 25-year legacy of trust and experience among India’s government procurement specialists. Approximately half of the 4.9 million classrooms in India feature concrete walls painted black as their “chalkboard.” Over time, these rudimentary surfaces inevitably give way to daily wear and tear and become chipped or faded, leaving chalk writing essentially illegible. Naturally, it was imperative to help elevate the quality of visual communications in this $90 billion education market. The need for a better way to provide classrooms with a core communication tool, especially in light of government initiatives to improve education, brought Whitemark to PolyVision. polyvision.com “We are in the visual communications business, and so many schools need to upgrade their surfaces for teaching,” stated Tarun Periwal, Director of Whitemark. “The challenge and opportunity were finding the right product and working through our established government channels to make it happen.” In India, 95 percent of education purchase decisions are made by the state or central government. As the country’s largest writing surface supplier that has been distributing various education products ranging from whiteboards and chalkboards to pin boards, planners and graphs for nearly 25 years, Whitemark had three unique advantages in attaining bids through the government for India’s school surfaces: 1. A proven track record of trust and proficiency among government procurement specialists 2. Expertise as a manufacturer and a distributor of CeramicSteel writing boards 3. The ideal partner and product: PolyVision® e3™ CeramicSteel. “PolyVision’s e3 CeramicSteel was clearly the best choice,” added Periwal. “These schools need a surface that is incredibly durable, and those who evaluate the tenders demand a strong ROI. e3 chalkboards are guaranteed to resist scratches and provide a perfectly smooth surface. CeramicSteel This is a leap beyond the current state of teachers writing on chipping black paint. The e3 surface emits no harmful chemicals and less chalk dust, and that’s important for schools, also.” It is challenging to not only present a product that will satisfy a customer’s specific need but also to communicate the benefits of the product amid a government procurement system. Whitemark’s advantage in securing the bid lay in the company’s trusted expertise as a manufacturer with years of established relationships within the procurement system. “As a manufacturer, I could speak to the real performance needs of the surface in a classroom setting, and that made all the difference in securing a winning bid,” concluded Periwal. Whitemark and the specification of PolyVision e3 surpassed that of the competition’s, securing bids to bring a better educational surface to 2,000,000 square feet of chalkboards in schools across India. Since classroom writing surfaces experience hours of use per day and stringent school budgets demand long-lasting solutions for chalkboard and whiteboard surfaces, it is imperative to have chalkboards that are guaranteed to withstand the rigors of everyday classroom use. As the need for more efficient writing surfaces in India became more evident, Whitemark knew that PolyVision’s unique e3 chalkboard would be the solution educators were looking for. PolyVision e3 chalkboards not only yield less chalk dust, delivering a cleaner environment, but also provide superior writability and erasability – something the education system in India did not previously have. Half of India’s classrooms now feature a consistently smooth writing experience for students and educators, which in turn has generated higher-quality communications and improved learning outcomes for students of all ages. ©2014 PolyVision Corporation. All rights reserved. Trademarks used herein are the property of PolyVision Corporation or of their respective owner. PolyVision Corporation reserves the right to make changes in product design, construction, or detail, and to discontinue any product or material without notice. 04-30-14 ENG