a key role.
Active in Algeria and Tunisia
over the past two decades, R-M
Xavier Verfaillie, managing direc-
tor of BASF Morocco, Algeria and
Tunisia, and head of the North African
Business Platform at Casablanca, said:
“For BASF, the automotive industry is
a major sector, and we want to develop
complete and innovative solutions for
leading car manufacturers.”
Berger Paints Launches Two
New Products in Nepal
Berger Paints has launched globally accredited Easy Clean and Rangoli Total
Care in the Nepali market.
Berger Easy Clean is formulated
with special types of cross-linking polymers and micro fine pigments.
“This provides high washability and
is easy to maintain. It keeps looking
fresh for years giving a smooth sheen
finish. Free from any heavy metals like
lead, mercury and chromium, this is
also one of the safest interior paints,”
said the statement.
Likewise, Berger Rangoli Total Care
is formulated with special types of copolymer and micro fine pigments. It
gives rich matte look on application,
and gives excellent coverage and durability for interior walls when applied
using proper methods, according to the
company.
PPG’s CIC Receives $1.071
MN to Help Develop Non-isocyanate Liquid Coatings
for Military
The U.S. Department of Defense
Strategic Environmental Research and
Development Program has awarded
$1.071 million to PPG Industries’
Allison Park, Pennsylvania, Coatings
Innovation Center (CIC) to help
20 | Coatings World
develop non-isocyanate liquid coatings
that meet military specifications.
The funding will support the development of many coating chemistries
that can be applied in the automotive
refinish, industrial, and protective and
marine coatings markets.
PPG has partnered with the Army
Research Lab and U.S. Naval Air
Systems Command on the project,
and will serve as the prime contractor.
As part of their role, PPG researchers will synthesize, formulate and test
coatings that meet polyurethane performance standards but do not include
isocyanates.
“The chemical-agent-resistant coat-
ings used by the armed forces are based
on technology that is more than 40 years
old,” explained Ljiljana Maksimovic,
PPG development associate, industrial
coatings research, based at the CIC.
“Many contain isocyanate materials
that can potentially cause skin and re-
spiratory reactions. We’ll be working
to develop updated formulas that can
address new and emerging chemical
agent threats. These new technologies
will also help prevent exposure to iso-
cyanates and reduce isocyanate-related
health hazards.”
The 36-month project is one of
many externally-funded programs de-
veloped, awarded and executed by PPG
researchers with the assistance of PPG’s
corporate science and technology team,
Maksimovic said.
Axalta Receives Daimler
Trucks North America’s
Masters of Quality Award
Axalta Coating Systems, formerly
DuPont Performance Coatings, the
leading manufacturer and marketer of
heavy-duty truck coatings, received the
Daimler Trucks North America Masters
of Quality award. This is the fourth
consecutive year that Axalta Coating
Systems has received the award and the
seventh time overall.
The 25-year-old Masters of Quality
program recognizes an elite group of
suppliers who meet or exceed Daimler
Trucks North America’s stringent
quality standards and demonstrate an
www.coatingsworld.com
ongoing commitment to improving the
quality of their products. The Masters
of Quality award is the highest recognition that Daimler Trucks North
America gives to its suppliers.
“Axalta is delighted to be recognized as the ‘best of the best.’ To receive
the highest recognition by Daimler
Trucks North America in the last four
consecutive years reinforces our commitment to deliver only the highest
quality Imron Elite polyurethane coatings,” said Herbert Nowak, heavy-duty
truck North American sales manager
for Axalta Coating Systems.
Imron Elite is the exclusive topcoat
for Daimler Trucks’ Freightliner brand
manufacturing facilities in the United
States and Mexico. The identical product is used in the commercial vehicle
aftermarket by Freightliner dealers to
ensure customer satisfaction and “
re-pair-in-kind” quality.
“We are extremely proud to ac-
cept the Masters of Quality award for
the seventh time,” said Joseph Wood,
heavy-duty truck business director,
North America for Axalta Coating
Systems. “It further acknowledges our
dedication to continually improve the
performance of our products and the
devotion of our team to service our
heavy-duty truck customers.”
Daimler’s suppliers are evaluated
each year on more than 100 criteria
related to aftermarket parts, quality,
engineering, warranty, service, avail-
ability and purchasing. While over
1,000 suppliers are considered for the
award, only suppliers rated in the top
three percent are recognized with an es-
teemed Masters of Quality award.
AkzoNobel Selects
Terra Technology to Cut
Inventory in Europe and
Africa
AkzoNobel has purchased Terra
Technology’s Demand Sensing and Multi-Enterprise Inventory Optimization solutions to improve demand predictability
and reduce inventory across Europe and
Africa.
“AkzoNobel chose Demand Sensing
and Multi-Enterprise Inventory
