The Product Marketing team at Nippon Paint Marine connects the company’s technical capabilities with market needs. Working with R&D, technical, sales, production and regulatory departments, it supports product strategy, portfolio management, market analysis and product launches. Product marketers translate technical features into clear customer benefits and provide the sales team with the information, tools and materials they need.
In this edition of our employee blog series, we introduce Yip Xue Qian, a member of the Product Marketing team at Nippon Paint Marine based in Osaka, Japan.
Yip Xue Qian, Product Marketing, Nippon Paint Marine Japan
I was born and raised in Malaysia and joined Nippon Paint Marine in 2024. My role is to bridge technical product development and commercial needs, covering product strategy, portfolio management, positioning, market and competitor analysis, and product launches. I work closely with our R&D and technical teams to understand how our products perform, then translate those insights into customer benefits and clear marketing messages. I also gather feedback from sales teams and customers and keep an eye on market trends and competitors.
One example of this work is the FASTAR Project, which I presented at the Nippon Paint Group Global Marketing Conference 2026 in October. The project also received the Bronze Award in the Brand Experience for B2B Marketing category at the Nippon Paint Group Marketing Excellence Showcase.
Different perspectives
I once heard that the right job is one where you can make a meaningful contribution. That idea stayed with me and was one of the reasons I joined Nippon Paint Marine.
In Malaysia, people from many cultural and linguistic backgrounds live and work together, and growing up there taught me to value different communication styles. I see the same diversity across Nippon Paint Marine and the wider Nippon Paint Group. Living in Japan has taken this further. As I became more comfortable speaking Japanese, I started paying more attention to how people think and approach problems. Now, when I face a challenge, I sometimes stop and ask myself, “How would someone with a different perspective approach this?”
Proven performance
One of the most interesting projects I worked on recently was exploring how we could better communicate the performance and value of EVER COOL, our heat-reflective coating with the technical team. Our sales team wanted to provide customers with a clearer and more tangible understanding of how the product can help address heat-related challenges onboard vessels.
To better understand the application, I worked closely with our technical team to learn where and how EVER COOL is typically used on vessels and what factors can influence its performance. We also researched publicly available information and considered the types of vessel information that would be useful when discussing different application scenarios.
I really enjoyed working on a topic outside our usual area of expertise. It gave me the opportunity to learn more about both the technical aspects of EVER COOL and the actual operating environment of vessels, while collaborating with colleagues from different functions. I hope what we learned through this project will help us communicate the value of EVER COOL more clearly to our customers.
Looking ahead
What I find most exciting about the marine industry is how closely it is connected to both technological development and environmental challenges. Biocidal antifouling coatings are still the mainstream solution for protecting hulls from fouling. However, as environmental regulations become stricter, I believe there will be growing demand for biocide-free solutions. Nippon Paint Marine has its own non-biocidal SPC (self-polishing copolymer) technology, and I am interested to see how antifouling develops and how the industry balances vessel performance, cost and environmental responsibility.
I have been in the marine industry for about two years and still have a lot to learn about regulations, shipbuilding, shipping practices and business customs in different countries. The more I understand the industry and the people in it, the better I can communicate the value of our products.
