Coatings World - July 2014

BASF Coatings is a division of BASF SE. BASF’s Coatings di- vision develops, produces and markets innovative automotive coatings, automotive refinishes and industrial coatings as well as decorative paints. BASF Coatings operate sites in Europe, North America and South America as well as Asia Pacific. Within this network, the company collaborates closely with its customers all over the world. In 2013, the Coatings division achieved global sales of $3.95 billion.

BASF has invested approximately $3.4 million in its Demarchi coatings site, located in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, to expand its capacity to service Brazil’s automotive industry with waterborne automotive coatings.

The goal is to meet market demands generated by new car makers setting up their plants in the country and by the trend of using waterborne technology rather than solvent-borne. BASF is the pioneer in developing waterborne basecoats for the automotive industry. The technology is eco-efficient because water replaces most of the organic solvents.

In addition to the traditional clients such as GM, Volkswagen, Fiat and PSA, and a strong presence in the segment of coatings for trucks, BASF has in the past years conquered new supply contracts, which include car makers such as Hyundai and Chery.

Another trend in the market is the use of integrated processes where the paintline is shortened by one step. This means that less material, time and energy are used. At the same time, the same application quality can be achieved.

In South America, BASF has two plants where automotive coatings are produced, one in Demarchi, Brazil, and the other in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

In 2013, Brazil was the fourth biggest car sales market in the world and on the seventh place worldwide as car producer, according to the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA).

BASF is expanding its business in industrial coatings in the
growth market of Africa. Since October 2013, the company has
supplied coil coatings to Roofings Rolling Mills (RRM), located in
Uganda. BASF and its technical service were also on hand when the
new coil coating lines were put into operation.
RRM is part of the Roofings Group, East Africa’s largest steel
producer. At its site in Namanve Industrial Park, RRM operates
three production lines with an annual capacity of 240,000 metric
tons. BASF has supplied a Pevicoat® mixing unit, based on site at
RRM. The Pevicoat unit is a computer-assisted paint mixing system
that can mix any color and gloss level within a very short time.

Coil coatings are used to coat aluminum and steel coils before they are processed further into an array of different products in the construction, household appliance and automotive industries. These products range from refrigerators to building façades. Since the panels are stamped, rolled and joined, the coating has to be extremely flexible and elastic so that it does not flake off. At the same time, however, it has to meet the requirements for scratch resistance.

RRM has invested $125 million in the site in Uganda, including for the coil coating line. The company also acquired technical support from its Japanese partner Yodogawa Steel Works and uses its technologies. Yodogawa Steel Works has produced coated coils for 75 years.

BASF Supplies Paints for Innovative Electric Car

BASF and BMW have once again teamed up, this time for the i3, the
BMW Group’s first model driven entirely by electric power. BASF is
supplying basecoats in four colors for the new i3 production line at
the BMW plant in Leipzig. The i3 was launched in November 2013.
With the paints, BASF is contributing to the i3’s unique de-
sign, which is exceptionally clean, reduced but, at the same time,
dynamic. The i3 has another special feature that also extends to
the coating: The passenger compartment is made of carbon-fiber-
reinforced plastic (CFRP). “We are very pleased to be a partner of
the BMW Group also for this innovative model. Driving sustainable
solutions is one of BASF’s strategic principles,” said Dr. Alexander
Haunschild, head of Automotive OEM Coatings Europe at BASF.

The car consists of a CFRP body-in-white on which the coated
plastic add-on parts are mounted. This concept means new chal-
lenges for the coating of the add-on parts and for the associated
application processes. BASF’s many years of experience in coating
add-on parts has paid off. Frank Naber, BASF’s Account Manager
for BMW Europe, explained: “Our laboratory teams joined forces
with the BMW Group to develop a coating for the special construc-
tion of the i3. In Leipzig, we also provide technical field service on
site on a daily basis.”
BASF has been a supplier for the BMW plant in Leipzig since its
start-up in 2005 and provides the automotive manufacturer with
modern paint systems worldwide.