PANTONE Paints are imported from Holland, the country that has led the world's paint industry for more than two centuries. Although Holland is about the size of the state of Rhode Island, it has over 120 paint manufacturers including the world's largest paint company, Akzo Nobel. The world's premier teaching facility for paint-making technology is the University of Eindhoven. Directly or indirectly, Dutch manufacturers account for more than 20 percent of the world's production of coatings.

Although the Netherlands does not possess a wealth of natural resources, the Dutch people have always been known for their resourcefulness, business acumen and navigational skills - these assets enabled the Netherlands to establish successful colonies and commercial hubs throughout the world. During the 17th and 18th century, the Netherlands and England shared the seas and the world of commerce.

In the late eighteenth century, the largest colony of European artists resided in the Netherlands. These artists, led by Rembrandt and Vermeer, were demanding coatings that would retain their color and endure for centuries. It was this domestic demand for artist oil paints that led Dutch entrepreneurs to focus on the development and production of paints in a broader sense. By 1790, Dutch paint makers were successfully combining oils and pigments from Dutch colonies to produce artist oils. It was a short leap from the development of high quality artist paints to the position of world domination in coatings technology that the Dutch have enjoyed since 1800.

The paints of Holland are the best because they are formulated with expensive resins, which are carefully combined with high concentrations of finely ground pigments, inexpensive fillers are never used.