Coatings World - March 2014

Kerry Pianoforte, Editor

Automotive OEM coatings manufacturers Coatings World interviewed expressed optimism for 2014, citing increased auto production in emerging markets such as
Asia Pacific and economic recovery in the mature regions of
North America and Europe
“We have seen recovery at the OEM level, although under-
standably the pace has varied by region,” said Steve Markevich,
senior vice president, Axalta Coating Systems and president,
OEM. “The demand for automotive OEM coatings is directly
proportional to the number of vehicles produced. Since the eco-
nomic downturn in the mature markets, there has been a re-
covery led by North America. Today the outlook for Europe is
improving, the Asian markets continue to grow and the South
American markets will reflect political and economic condi-
tions. Our overall confidence in all three regions is reflected in
our recent investment commitments. In the past ten months,
Axalta has announced substantial investments in the construc-
tion of additional capacity to manufacture waterborne prod-
ucts in Germany, China and Brazil.”
“Vehicle production will grow in 2014 in North America
but not as much as we saw in 2013,” predicted Joe Schmondiuk,
vice president – global accounts, BASF Coatings North America.
“This increase in production naturally helps OEM paint pro-
ducers. Europe is still having some struggles with their econo-
my but will see a slight increase in automotive production while
Asia is in a growth mode, particularly in China.”