6 Coatings Partner 2011

Liquid metal Daimler and BASF have joined forces to develop the Alubeam paint.

BASF’s Liquid Metal basecoat immerses the Mercedes-Benz

F 800 Style research vehicle in a radiant deep gloss, making it

look as if it were made of chrome rather than painted. Liquid

Metal paints use aluminum flakes as effect pigments.

For the latest generation of Liquid Metal

paints, BASF employs so-called

PVDA pigments (physical

vapor deposited aluminum).

As a result, the paint has

a more uniform ap-

pearance and seems

“Mat clearcoat changes the effect of the coating. The muted-

looking finish has something of a plastic look to it. It gives

silver colors in particular a cool, high-tech feel and create almost

haptic effects,“ said BASF color designer Eva Hoefli. “The result-

ing contrast between mat and glossy automobile add-on parts is

particularly striking.”

Mat clearcoats are used in OEM coating and for coating add-on

parts, and they are available in a variety of clearcoat technologies.

The application of mat clearcoats is a sophisticated procedure that

differs from standard OEM coating. That is why in the past it has

only been used in smaller circulation lines for individual series. “We

are working steadily to further optimize mat clearcoat technologi-

cally, as we expect demand to rise,” remarked chemical engineer

Christian Weiher, lab manager at the BASF automotive clearcoat

competence center.

BASF mat clearcoats are not very sensitive, but rather robust and

easy to care for. Soiling or a bit of dust are not as noticeable as on

a glossy finish. Smaller scratches are very hard to see. Car washes

are also no problem. However, the clearcoat must not be polished

since that will make it look glossier. BASF Coatings also offers

repair solutions for mat clearcoats.

Mat clearcoats – rising demandMore and more carmakers use the new effect coatings in smaller production runs as well.

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Perfect combination: dome with Liquid Metal and mat clearcoat

Attractive: Mat clearcoat makes you want to run your hand over the silky, smooth surface.

Close to the customer: BASF’s application center in Manga-lore, India

BASF received the “Best Supplier Award” for its superior perfor-

mance in the Paints category for the year 2009 from Honda Motor-

cycle and Scooter India. This is the third consecutive and fourth

time in the past five years that BASF in India has earned the title for

the best performance in this category. Tata Motors Limited, India’s

largest automobile company, awarded BASF with the “Best Sup-

plier Award” for its outstanding performance in the paints category

for the years 2008-2009, considering parameters such as quality,

cost, delivery and development. Mahindra & Mahindra, leader in

the utility vehicle segment in India, honored BASF with the “Best

Performance Award” in the Value Addition and Value Engineering

category for the years 2009-2010.

Three awards in India Tata Motors, Mahindra and Honda Motorcycle recognize BASF as “Best supplier”.

Mercedes-Benz F 800 Style: The car coated with Alubeam attracted a lot of attention at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show.

Coatings Partner 2011 7

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Nobuhiro Nagatsuka: He won over the jury with his fast and efficient product application.

to stretch across the car’s body like a metallic skin, emphasiz-

ing the important lines and contours of the vehicle design more

significantly. The surfaces can reflect the light with greater intensity

and are given additional gloss.The resulting metallic look has an

intensity that could not previously be achieved with conventional

metallic paints. BASF’s Liquid Metal is available today as an envi-

ronmentally friendly waterborne basecoat and complies with the

required specifications for adhesion

and weathering.

BASF and Henkel have signed a joint venture agreement

to develop innovative corrosion protection solutions for the

automotive industry.

The focus of the joint venture will be research and develop-

ment. It is intended to bring together the unique compe-

tences of both companies in the areas of metal pretreat-

ment and dip coating to develop products and processes

that offer greater benefits in terms of cost, performance and

environmental compatibility than the standard corrosion

protection processes currently used within the automo-

tive industry. Following a successful development of these

products and processes Henkel and BASF intend to jointly

market them in the automotive industry.

“A reduced number of process stages for metal pretreat-

ment and corrosion protection would offer customers

extensive benefits for the first phase of automotive coating,”

explained Paul Kirsch, Corporate Senior Vice President

Transport and Metal at Henkel. “BASF and Henkel have

outstanding and complementary competences as regards

automotive corrosion protection,” noted Raimar Jahn, Presi-

dent of the BASF Group’s Coatings Division. “Pooling this

experience and expertise offers a solid basis for researching

a new and efficient technology.”

Promising initiativeHenkel and BASF set up Research Joint Venture.

Why not be a little more varied? While the side sections of the shelf

look like beechwood, the shelf bottoms are bright blue. Wood deco

and plain colors are being combined increasingly for pieces of

furniture. BASF has responded to this latest trend and has boosted

its capacity for pigmented foil coatings. Under the brand FGuard®

CA, BASF can offer its customers a paint system with twelve mixing

bases, plus a number of metallic colors. Application takes place

in two stages, which involves these special paints being applied

to paper strips. The individual pieces of furniture are subsequently

coated with the finished foils produced in this way – in blue, green

or red – according to customer requests.

Contact: foilcoating@basf.com

Color accents BASF has developed a paint system for furniture with multiple mixing bases and metallic colors.

The best painter Nobuhiro Nagatsuka from Japan won the 2010 R-M® International Best Painter Contest.

The Japanese painter won the contest in an exciting final, which

took place at the R-M Refinish Competence Centre in Cler mont

near Paris, France. A contest that proved to be very tight, as the

participants were all very talented. Andrej Šimc from Slovenia was

awarded the second prize and Simone Boretius

made third place. Harald Pflanzl, head of Automo-

tive Refinish Coatings Solutions Europe at BASF

Coatings, explained why the competition is so

important to the R-M brand: “This competition

meets R-M’s high standards. These standards

include ‘globality,’ which is reinforced by

the fact that the competition has at-

tracted 17 participants from countries

in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

In addition to R-M’s reputation for

high quality and ease of application,

it is R-M’s color competence that

helped the candidates achieve

outstanding results.”

www.rmpaint.com

8 Coatings Partner 2011

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BASF Coatings Japan Ltd. is responding to an increasing aware-

ness about environmental protection in Japan: a series of initiatives

is introduced in the automotive refinish market to promote the use

of the eco-friendly waterborne BASF coatings brand, R-M®.

The company actively supports bodyshops to replace conventional

solventborne coatings with R-M’s waterborne product line ONXY

HD. There will be a program to train the painters in bodyshops. An

e-learning system will help distributors to acquire and share know-

how in the promotion of waterborne coatings. Moreover, BASF is

introducing an online forum to enhance efficient communication

between distributors and users.

Pro environment BASF Coatings outlines initiatives for eco-friendly automotive refinish coatings in Japan.

A world of colorsSuvinil® has brought out its new range of colors, with new hues and new creative names.

Suvinil colors: The color range includes new color families like pastel or metallic colors.

The new palette of colors offered by Suvinil contains a total of

1,533 colors, 700 of which are brand new and 800 are taken from

former palettes used by Suvinil. Other new developments are the

names given to the colors, such as Love Apple, Bridal Veil and

Coconut Water. In addition, the gradients of hues have now been

enhanced, and three color isolators have been inserted to make the

choice easier. “The range of colors has been reorganized in the light

of color theory and science. Therefore, we were able to develop a

full color range and can offer the client a wide selection of possibili-

ties in the world of color”, says Karina Walter, Marketing Coordina-

tor at Suvinil.

www.suvinil.com.br

BASF has established a technical center for developing advanced

eco-friendly coatings technologies for the automotive industry in

Korea. In March 2010, BASF and the Gyeonggi Provincial Govern-

ment of the Republic of Korea (GGPG) signed a Memorandum of

Understanding (MOU) to confirm their collaboration in constructing

this center. In this technical center, BASF plans to conduct research

and development of eco-friendly waterborne coatings for use by

automotive OEMs as well as the technology for an integrated coat-

ing process, which yields more cost-efficient results.

Moon-Soo Kim, Governor of GGPG, said: “We appreciate the value

BASF brings forth to the automotive industry in Korea. BASF’s coat-

ings technologies provide

our automotive industry

with more sustainable

options and, by increasing

cost-efficiency in produc-

tion, help our automakers

to be more competitive.

We are happy GGPG plays

a part in helping to address

the needs of Korea’s au-

tomotive industry.” BASF’s

Coatings Technical Center

started operation in mid-

2010. “The establishment

New sustainable optionsBASF set up a technical center for eco-friendly car coatings.

Opel GTC: The intensive red color conveys the concept car’s elegance and passion.

Partners: Moon-Soo Kim, Governor of Korea’s Gyeonggi Province (4th from left) and Raimar Jahn, President of BASF Group’s Coatings Divi-sion (center)

Coatings Partner 2011 9

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of the facility in Korea is an important step to further strengthen our

international technical network and the capability to support the

business of our customers in Korea and globally,” remarked Raimar

Jahn, President of BASF Group’s Coatings Division. “It aims to

research and develop sustainable and customized coating materials

and technology to cater for each customer’s specific needs, thereby

increasing the customer’s competitive edge“.

Among the best Suvinil® wins innovation award in Brazil.

In the competition of the “Most Innovative Companies in Brazil

2010” 120 companies took part and Suvinil, BASF’s decorative

paint brand, made second place among the 20 winners. The

brand was also recognized as the best in the Support of Innova-

tion category. The survey was organized by the “Época Negócios”

magazine (one of the most important business magazines in Brazil)

in partnership with the A.T. Kearney consulting firm, which promotes

the Best Innovator prize in 15 European countries and the United

States. The prize is designed to encourage corporate creativity and

highlights categories like innovation strategy, organization and cul-

ture, support of innovation, innovation processes, innovation results,

and sustainability. “To be among the most innovative companies in

Brazil further encourages us to always seek the best for our custom-

ers,” said Eugênio Luporini Neto, responsible for BASF’s decorative

paints business in South America.

High tech: VIP guests visited BASF’s new Coatings Technical Center.

Happy and proud: Suvinil staff with innovation prize

Opel/Vauxhall Design and BASF Coatings designers have worked together closely to give the GTC Paris a special

and elegant exterior. The concept car, which evoked “oohs” and “aahs” from the audience at the 2010 Paris Motor

Show, wore a sheen of a special, brilliant red paint by BASF Coatings. Ralph Elstermeier, BASF Coatings’ account

manager for Opel: “Opel/Vauxhall is a long-standing and important customer for us. I’m very happy that this partner-

ship is now experiencing a particular highlight with this concept car and that we could contribute to its

design.” Jeannette Finger, Color and Trim Designer for Opel/Vauxhall, explained: “Keeping in line with

the brand’s DNA, it is an achievable dream car, conceived to showcase an energized brand.”

An energized brandClose cooperation between Opel/Vauxhall Design and BASF for GTC Paris Concept Car