commercial vehicle segments for
many years and demonstrates
the trust Daimler places in our
products and services,” said
Carsten Vietze, coatings account manager
for Daimler Van and Truck & Bus Europe
at BASF. “With the supply contract, we
are strengthening the market position of
the entire BASF Group in the growing
Russian market.”
The paint system for the Sprinter
Classic stands out for its high level of
robustness, a property that is especially
important for commercial vehicles such
as the Mercedes-Benz van. For the new
paintline, in addition to the e-coat, primer
and clearcoat, BASF suppliers three me-
tallic and three solid colors.
BASF is a long-standing partner of
Daimler for passenger cars and commercial vehicles in all regions. In addition to
the complete product portfolio, ranging
from e-coat to clearcoat, the company
offers a wide range of services. In 2012,
the partnership with BASF in the truck
and bus segment was recognized with
the Daimler Supplier Award. The Sprinter
Classic is the first vehicle produced in co-operation between Mercedes-Benz Vans
and GAZ. According to the firm, the
Sprinter is one of the most successful van
models in the world. In 1995, it replaced
the Mercedes-Benz T1 and since then has
been on roads worldwide.
AkzoNobel Agrees to JV
Deal in Oman to Boost
Middle East Presence
AkzoNobel has expanded its presence
in the Middle East after acquiring a 50
percent stake and management control of
Sadolin Paints Oman SAOC, which employs approximately 150 people.
The company has signed a joint venture agreement with Omar Zawawi
Establishment LLC (promoter and shareholder of Sadolin Paints) which involves
the manufacture and sale of decorative
paints and performance coatings in Oman.
Financial details were not disclosed.
“This agreement forms part of
AkzoNobel’s growths plans for the
Middle East,” said Conrad Keijzer, the
company’s executive committee member
responsible for Performance Coatings.
“Bringing our decorative paints and performance coatings expertise under one
roof in Oman will provide a strong platform to support our customers in this increasingly important market.”
PPG Donates $10,000 to
Science Buddies
The PPG Industries Foundation has donated $10,000 to Science Buddies, a
nonprofit organization that provides
millions of students, parents and teachers with highly personalized online resources to help build literacy in science
and technology.
“The donation from PPG has enabled
Science Buddies to expand our project
base with engaging experiments for K- 12
students to learn more about the science
behind color and surfaces,” said Jayme
Burke, vice president, Science Buddies.
“We appreciate the ongoing assistance
from PPG as we continue to provide core
program support to a wide variety of
students and help develop them into to-
morrow’s engineers, scientists and other
technical professionals.”
In collaboration with PPG Industries,
Science Buddies developed project ideas
that investigate color and surfaces through
chemistry, human behavior, mechanical
engineering, photography, physics and
sociology. The Science Buddies website
provides step-by-step instructions for ex-
periments that can be conducted at home,
in the classroom or at science fairs.
Science Buddies also worked with PPG
to develop project ideas for 118,000 students and teachers in Allegheny County,
Pennsylvania; Cuyahoga County, Ohio;
Guilford County, North Carolina and
Harris County, Texas.
Axalta Coating Systems
Highlights Six Decades of
Automotive Color
The most popular colors in automotive
history are celebrated in Axalta Coating
Systems, LLC’s color history report titled,
“Six Decades of Automotive Color.”
Axalta, a leader in providing color trend-
ing information for the automotive
community, has gathered more than six
decades of information showcasing the
most popular colors by year in four major
automotive markets: North America,
Europe, Asia Pacific and South America.
The annual tradition of reporting trends
in vehicle color popularity began in 1953,
with only a North American focus. Over
time, the report has been expanded to in-
clude all major regions and vehicle seg-
ments. For the first time, the top five
most popular colors by model year, dat-
ing back more than 60 years, have been
compiled into a historical mosaic of color.
“Our customers have counted on our
legacy to deliver exciting color, as well
as solutions to meet the challenges of a
changing world,” said David Fischer, vice
president, OEM Global Market Strategy
and Growth, Axalta. “As manufacturing
and coatings processes have evolved, the
industry’s commitment to sustainability
has increased and customer expectations
for improved performance have continued. Axalta has been a preferred partner
to deliver the necessary technology to
meet both of these demands.”
Valspar to Supply
Waterborne Coating
System for Maersk
Container Industry
The Valspar Corporation and Maersk
Container Industry have entered into a
long-term supply agreement. Valspar will
provide Valspar Aquaguard waterborne
coating for shipping containers manufactured in Maersk Container Industry’s
operations in Dongguan, China. With this
agreement, manufacturing of a significant share of dry goods containers will
convert from solventborne coatings to
Valspar Aquaguard waterborne coating.
Maersk Container Industry (MCI) is a
business unit in the Maersk Group, which
comprises the world’s largest shipping
container company. MCI plans to begin production with Valspar Aquaguard
sometime in 2014 and aims towards one
day going 100 percent waterborne.
National Paint Industries
Purchases Petri Paint
National Paint Industries has purchased
the assets of the Petri Paint Company of
Newark, New Jersey. Petri, established in
1963 is a manufacturer of clear finishes
for the hardwood flooring industry.
