products, non-paint products, body panels and services, as well
as the staff and parts of the management, will be integrated
into BASF Coatings Services.
With the acquisition of MAB, BASF Coatings is now
strengthening its position in South Africa on a long-term basis,
especially in the key region of Gauteng.
The automotive refinishing market in South Africa is one of
Africa’s largest markets. Fifty percent of the continent’s vehicles are found on the roads of South Africa. Seven carmakers
manufacture cars in South Africa. In addition, there are over
1,000 paint and bodyshops in South Africa.
JOTUN TO OPEN 15 RETAIL OUTLETS IN INDIA
The Jotun Group will be opening three retail outlets in
Kozhikode region of North Kerala in India. These will be located at Kozhikode, Payyannur and Perienthalmanna.
Jotun currently has eight retail outlets in the Calicut region
and plans to set up 15 paint showrooms by end of 2008. These
showrooms, known as Multicolour centers, will offer a range of
facilities.
“With the setting up of our first full facility manufacturing
plant in Pune in March, we are all set to cater to the Indian
market,” said Percy Jijina, general manager, decorative, Jotun
India. “Kerala is a big market, especially the North Kerala
region, which includes Calicut. We plan to open 15 outlets in
the region and 35 in Kerala by end of 2008. This expansion will
strengthen our presence in Kerala market.”
KPC COATINGS GROUP REBRANDS ITSELF
KPC Coatings Group Inc. will be rebranding itself as Certified
Coating Specialists Inc. to continue to reflect the evolution of
the company from the initial powder coating business, to its
present status in industrial and marine coating contracting in
British Columbia, Canada while supporting planned technological and geographic expanded delivery of services.
LAFONTAINE AUTOMOTIVE GROUP SELECTS PPG
The LaFontaine Automotive Group, Highland, MI, has converted from using a solvent-based system for vehicle paint
repairs to using Envirobase High Performance waterborne
basecoat by PPG Industries’ automotive refinish business. The
transition is part of an overall initiative to sell, service and
repair vehicles in an environmentally-friendly way, according
to LaFontaine. The company is one of the first in Michigan to
move to a waterborne system.
“This decision was the right thing to do,” said Todd
McCallum, fixed operations director for LaFontaine. “We’re
very conscious of the need to safeguard our environment. We’re
going for gold-level LEED certification and doing all we can to
be genuinely green. We’re very pleased to be working with PPG
to make this change.”
