Investments in China
“China’s expanding car production is a reflection of the na-
tion’s fantastic economic growth. Axalta is excited to contribute
to China’s success story,” said Shaver. “We know our coating
systems make sense to manufacturers and the environment
alike. We never forget that the colors and performance of our
coatings also are part of the pleasure car owners receive when
they buy a car. Axalta is proud to be able to play such a multi-
faceted role in China’s accomplishments.”
BASF has also expanded automotive coatings production in
China. BASF Shanghai Coatings Company Limited is investing
in a new basecoat plant at the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park
in Shanghai, China. The new plant will increase the company’s
local production capacity for basecoat by 13,500 tons per year.
The investment represents an important step to strengthen
BASF’s position as a leading coatings supplier to the automotive
industry in China, according to the company.
The new coatings plant is planned to start production in the
first half of 2014. It will be designed according to the latest and
most environmentally friendly manufacturing processes and technologies. BASF Shanghai Coatings Company Limited is a joint
venture with 15 years of successful partnership between BASF and
Shanghai Coatings Company Ltd. The joint venture is already running a production facility in the district of Minhang in Shanghai.
“In China, BASF has been supplying coatings reliably to in-
ternational and domestic car makers for more than 15 years. As
a long-term partner, we have witnessed how China has become
a world leader in automotive production,” said Peter Fischer,
senior vice president, Coatings Solutions Asia Pacific at BASF.
“Our investment in additional local coatings production facili-
ties reflects our commitment to address the current and future
needs of our automotive customers in this dynamic market.”
“With our latest technologies, innovative coatings solutions
and processes, we will continue to invest in strengthening our
infrastructure to support the growing automotive industry in
China,” Fischer continued.
BASF is the coatings supplier who first introduced water-borne basecoats to China in 2005. The company offers a wide
range of products for use in the automotive industry throughout the value chain, for automotive manufacturers and suppliers
and in customer service.
PPG Industries has made a number of major investments in
China. PPG opened its new automotive OEM coatings development and application center in Tianjin, China. This facility is the
first of its kind locally, and it will focus on the development of
automotive coatings in China.
The company also opened PPG Coatings (Tianjin) Co., Ltd.,
a new waterborne coatings manufacturing facility. The Tianjin
plant is PPG’s largest coatings manufacturing facility globally,
and the expansion significantly increases the plant’s production
capacity for waterborne coatings.
“We are pleased to celebrate the completion of this critical
expansion project in China,” said Cynthia Niekamp, PPG senior
vice president, automotive OEM coatings. “China’s automotive
manufacturing industry is experiencing dramatic growth, and in
light of new environmental protection regulations, the increased
demand for eco-friendly waterborne automotive coatings con-
tinues to drive the expansion of PPG’s business here.”
Last year, the Regulation on the Access Management of Passenger
Vehicle Manufacturers and Products went into effect, requiring that
all automotive basecoats and topcoats used in manufacturing have
waterborne formulas, setting a new entry threshold for automakers.
As a result, PPG’s waterborne coatings technologies – with its low
VOC emissions and high cost-efficiency – have become increasingly
popular with automakers in China, the company reported.
BASF Launches Campus Talks for 2014 Graduates in China
BASF recently kicked off its Campus Talks for 2014 university graduates at East China
University of Science and Technology , with participation of more than 1,000 students
from various universities in Shanghai.
The Campus Talks are part of the BASF “Grow” Graduate Program, which aims to
recruit, train and develop talented, passionate and enthusiastic graduates from all over
China by offering customized training and job rotation to lay a solid foundation for career
development. Since the program began in 2007, BASF has continuously recruited fresh
graduates from universities throughout China, even during the economic downturn.
“As part of our Asia Pacific strategy, BASF will create around 9,000 new jobs in the
region by 2020, and the majority of these will be in China,” said Johnny Kwan, senior vice
president, country platform and functions, Greater China, BASF. “By investing in people, we directly support our ambitious growth targets.”
This year, the BASF Campus Talks will be conducted in selected universities in six cities: Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Chongqing,
Tianjin and Qingdao. All BASF “Grow” trainees will be assigned a dedicated guide, and will experience different job roles over a period
of 24 months to gain a comprehensive knowledge of BASF’s business environment and acquire the necessary skills in their specialist areas.
Qualified candidates with bachelor or master’s degrees will be offered positions at BASF in areas including business, manufacturing and engineering, research and development and functional units.
