Auto Refinish Market
now, oil prizes are at a two-year high. The long-term trend is certain to be greater demand in
emerging markets; places like China and India
where hundreds of millions of people are joining the middle class; so it’s hard to see how there
won’t be price pressure. For us, that means a
continuation of efforts to deliver products that
require less energy consumption.”
Reducing Cycle Time/Costs
According to Jim Berkey, director, MVP business
solutions, PPG automotive refinish, the overall
need to reduce vehicle cycle times and costs is a
key issue for auto refinish customers.
“Cycle time performance remains the critical
factor for running a successful collision repair
business and meeting the customer satisfaction
expectations of vehicle owners and insurers
alike,” Berkey said. “Cycle time is reduced by
one factor and one factor only, and that’s finding ways to work more continuously on vehicles.
This means that the collision shop organization must determine
the breakdowns in the process that cause bottlenecks and stop
work on a vehicle. In response, PPG is focusing on providing
shop owners and managers with a full complement of hands-
on training and on-site support to guide them through the pro-
cess of implementing processes and practices that can increase
throughput performance and reduce cycle times.”
Berkey explained that a positive customer relationship is just
as critical as cycle time performance.
“We know that the impact of giving the customer an experience that is unexpectedly good is still a major influencer
in that customer returning and referring work to others,”
Berkey added.
PPG is also working towards faster, more accurate color
matching software and tools, as well as keeping technician skills
up to date with the changing technologies.
“Given that collision center throughput is key to custom-
er satisfaction, PPG is working diligently to eliminate any
bottlenecks in the customer’s paint repair process by advanc-
ing our color tools and ensuring fast access to ‘right the first
time’ matches,” said Mary Kimbro, director global color, PPG
Automotive Refinish
AkzoNobel responds to customer issues by helping to cut
costs while maintaining quality.
“With our robust, easy-to-use products with state-of-the-art
and interactive online color support we’re helping our customers,”
explained Stranimaier. “The other issue with customers – not all,
perhaps, but more and more – is sustainability. The improvements
we’ve made in our waterborne product offerings are one way that
we are addressing those needs. Improving accuracy and cutting drying times are also part and parcel of our efforts on sustainability.”
Whittleston explained that BASF’s customers are becoming
more and more concerned with running their businesses and the
tools necessary to do so.
Customers are caring a lot more about running their businesses and not just about paint,” he said. “They are looking for
tools and services that help them be more effective, productive
and efficient. And BASF has a range of proven business tools
that can do just that – from our VisionPlus Online Dashboard
that allows collision repair centers to quickly identify opportunities to improve performance and develop strategies to implement corrective actions to our Advanced Process Solutions
business tool that is designed to help collision repair centers to
improve performance and increase insurance appeal.”
New Technologies and Products
The trends in the market continue to be reducing cost and time
in collision centers, as well as sustainable solutions and a reduction in the impact on the environment.
“As we often point out, the critical deliverable in today’s marketplace is designing paint systems that enable collision repair
centers to reduce the time and cost of the repair process as well
as reduce impact on the environment. PPG is investing the full
weight of our global R&D talents to address these mega trends
and cost pressures,” said Gareth Hughes, director of technology
and global platform marketing, PPG Automotive Refinish.
Whittleston explained that BASF’s development centers
around sustainable solutions in order to help their customers
be successful.
“More efficient coatings with a focus on reducing a shop’s
cycle time without the need to bake the finish are in the forefront of our development,” Whittleston said. “Additionally,
we continue to make our finishes even more durable, such
as scratch resistant clears which result in less impact on the
environment plus a more satisfied customer. Automobile
manufacturers continue to lower the weight of vehicles with
the use of new materials such as carbon fiber and aluminum
alloys. We must insure our coatings exhibit outstanding
AkzoNobel offers a wide variety of color options for the auto refinish market.
