tion waterborne or MPB-LV solventborne basecoats. Our devel-
opment chemists are working on new hybrid technologies to en-
sure compliance for many years to come.”
“Our chemists are diligently working on advanced crosslink-
ing platforms for the future topcoats and undercoats,” said
Brunori. “Advancements in pigment dispersion technologies and
waterborne resin platforms are always of interest to our formu-
lators. The goal is to continue to bring value and technological
advancements at the same time to our customers. This theme res-
onates throughout our organization.”
While meeting environmental regulations is certainly one of
the most important issues, meeting customers’ needs at a rea-
sonable price is equally important.
“Lower/unstable demand in certain regions of the world has
made customers more cautious with respect to inventory manage-
ment (destocking),” said Manea. “BASF sees this as an opportunity
to engage our customers to understand the specific demands that
they are facing and construct programs to assist them.”
According to Brunori, the key issue for many refinish cus-
tomers is price point and quality. “Value paints are the fastest
growing market segments that our industry has ever seen,” he
added. “Customers are demanding a lower price alternative with-
out sacrificing color match or performance. There are more Tier
2 paint companies in our industry than ever before; with more
entering the U.S. market from around the world each year. Eco-
nomic pressures and quality equal to the major paint manufac-
turers have accelerated the consumption of these products.
Matrix System has provided the industry great products at a
value price for many years. Matrix System employees remain
well-grounded to our roots and sensitive to the conditions our
customers are operating in. Our business model satisfies the mar-
ket demand more today than it did 30 years ago.”
When it comes to auto refinish, color matching is probably
the biggest priority.
“In the end, our customers care about one thing above all –
delivering a perfect repair to their customers,” said Strainimaier.
“The quality of the products and the efficiency of the processes
are absolutely key for them, but the number one priority is to
get the color right – color excellence, if you will. We are con-
stantly investing in the technologies and services to make certain
they can get it right, and get it right the first time, every time.
That’s about databases of colors, and about software and tools.
We think the future is with 100% digital systems for color recog-
nition and color formulation. We have those capabilities now, in
our Sikkens and Lesonal systems, and we’ve got some key cus-
tomers who have switched over from the traditional system using
color documentation in the form of chips and visual matching to
fully digital, with our AM3 spectrophotometer and our color
management software.”
Apart from that, AkzoNobel is doing a lot to help its cus-
tomers with more efficient processes, so that their throughput is
higher – which translates to higher profitability. “We do it with
support and training, with a real emphasis on partnership,” said
Strainimaier. “Customers also are looking at ways to reduce
waste and cut energy consumption, and we are trying to respond
to those concerns with improvements in products – faster drying,
and at lower temperatures.”
AkzoNobel through its Acoat selected program was an early
innovator in the area of educational programs related to the busi-
ness aspects of running a profitable collision repair center. “For
approximately thirty years we have provided collision repair cen-
ters throughout the world insights about the industry, their re-
spective markets as well as information related to techniques,
tools and trends,” said Strainimaier. “Today, we continue that
practice with concepts such as Process Centered Environments
(PCE) which demonstrates how business productivity along with
improved quality and profitability can be enhanced through the
introduction of sustainable processes.”
New Products
Over the last four years, AkzoNobel has had a partnership with
the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 racing team, and
some of the spinoffs from that cooperation are now finding their
way into its products. “For example, we’ve got a new UV-curable
filler that we’re now introducing as Sikkens click&go UV Sur-
facer,” said Strainimaier. “It’s packaged in an innovative unit that
you can effortlessly click on to your spray gun, and it cures in 5
minutes when exposed to UV-A light. So that delivers speed, con-
venience, performance, low energy consumption – quite a lot of
performance in one new product.”
Another spinoff from AkzoNobel is Autoclear Matt 12, a
two-pack matting finish consisting of low gloss and semi-gloss
components for application over all basecoats. “The customer
can control the level of gloss in the product by altering the mix
of the two components,” Strainimairer added. “Both of those
products are examples of the ‘Creating Together’ theme we’ve
featured in our Sikkens global marketing campaign – working
with our customers and our partners to develop innovative prod-
ucts and solutions.
AkzoNobel also just broke ground in Changzhou, China for
a new manufacturing site, along with office, research, ware-
housing and support facilities. “It’s one of the biggest investments
we’ve ever made, and it will add 25 million liters of production
capacity straight away, with the potential to triple that as the
market grows,” said Strainimaier. “That’s the real proof of our
commitment to the Chinese market. If it all goes according to
plan, it will be ready in 2014.”
Matrix System was the first Tier 2 paint company to offer the
refinish market an alternative to waterborne basecoats by launch-
ing MSB-LV Low VOC solvent basecoat. “Other paint companies
scrambled to add this alternative basecoat to their portfolio, which
have some deficiencies which included; decreased opacity, difficult
to apply, reduction of alternates/variant formulas and minimal use
of Xirillic pigments for late model vehicles,” said Brunori. “Matrix
System solved all of these issues by launching our MPB-LV “Coast
to Coast” Premium Low VOC Basecoat into the market. MPB-LV
is a state-of-the-art technology that offers exceptional perform-
ance and consistent results similar to that of a national rule
basecoat. Our solvent based MPB-LV has made compliance easy
by giving our customers a premium basecoat that solve color ac-
www.coatingsworld.com
October 2012
