What we do
Our areas of expertise
As a top-tier player in the road markings sector for over 60 years, SAR has left an enduring mark on roads and cities across France. Every year, our teams produce more than 20,000 tons of paint, which is enough to paint a continuous 10 cm-wide line 12 times around the Earth.
We provide marking solutions for:
- Motorways
- National roads
- Departmental roads
- Cities, towns and villages
- Airports
- Ports
- Private industrial sites
- Military bases
- Motor racing circuits
- And more besides
With benchmark status in the European market, SAR also develops specifically formulated and certified products to meet the requirements of foreign markets.
With over 40% of its production exported, SAR is clearly focused on the international market and operates in many countries throughout Europe and the world.
Our core business
Ever since its creation, SAR has been France’s leading manufacturer of road marking products designed for applicators:
- Permanent markings, whether non-retroreflective, retroreflective or visible at night in rainy conditions
- Temporary markings or masking
- Decorative coatings
SAR also markets an extensive range of complementary products, such as prefabricated strips, road studs, and devices for people with reduced mobility.
Our means and resources
SAR’s teams include formulation specialists and application experts, who work together in pioneering new products, from their development in the laboratory through to their application on the road.
In addition to a fully automated production facility with an ability to produce 35,000 tons of road marking products every year, SAR also boasts large storage capacities (over 3,000 tons) for finished products, meaning that it can swiftly meet its customers’ needs across Europe.
SAR is renowned for the unconditional quality of its products, as evidenced by its ISO 9001 certification.
Research & Development
SAR has built a unique, modern technical complex that houses the company’s laboratory and test centre, thereby guaranteeing synergistic ties between its various areas of expertise. The complex acts as a catalyst for driving progress and a showcase for the technological developments incorporated into our products.
The 10 people in our Research & Development team offer expertise in a wide range of fields:
- Chemical engineers and technicians for leading fundamental research and formulation work
- Experts in all application techniques involving all marking materials
These teams are responsible for developing the marking products of tomorrow.
Rigorous scientific practices in the laboratory are further bolstered with performance assessments in real-life conditions at a test site, in compliance with the requirements of European standards (EN 1824 or EN 13197).
Our Research & Development division develops and formulates products for customers worldwide.
SAR can draw strength from its cross-cutting approach and international culture to offer its customers:
- New areas of expertise that fulfil the requirements defined in the applicable standards of each country.
- A clear insight into how our products behave when subjected to external stresses (different weather conditions and types of substrate) by applying our solutions at various test sites abroad.
Innovation and sustainable development
Eco-designed products: SAR promotes responsible and sustainable manufacturing.
Green chemistry: our thermoplastics are formulated from plant-based raw materials.
Reduced carbon footprint: over 30 products in our range have obtained the “NF Environnement” label for their environmental performance, and we are developing paints with a very low volatile organic compound (VOC) content.
Innovative, environmentally friendly products:
- Our thermoplastics are packaged in hot-melt bags to ensure zero packaging waste.
- We have developed a new range of titanium dioxide-free products.
- Our waterborne paints are enhanced with a curing accelerator to improve their application and boost productivity.
- Our low-temperature thermoplastics improve energy efficiency during application.
- Our products come with inner bags to simplify the process of sorting and recycling the metal containers.
