BASF Coatings at SITS in Paris

"BASF Coatings. Faisons progresser la peinture." is the motto BASF Coatings has chosen for the first presentation of system solutions for innovative industrial coatings at the SITS, the international trade fair "Salon International des Traitements de Surfaces et de la Finition Industrielle" which takes place in Paris from March 13 to 16. At Stand F 150 in Hall 5, the company will on 120 square meters provide an overview of its industrial coating systems offer for metallic and plastic substrates. This offer includes dry and wet coatings, electrodeposition paints, coil coatings, coatings for plastics and UV curing coatings. 12 to 15 international company experts will be available for contacts during the trade fair opening hours. A competition will be held at the stand: The top prize to be won is a free-of-charge plant analysis in which BASF will point out potential optimizations. In 1999 SITS, the largest European surface treatment trade fair, drew nearly 20,000 visitors from twelve countries to the Villpinte exhibition grounds on the northern outskirts of Paris. This year 500 companies will be showing their products and services. Growth in the strategic key business of industrial coatings The industrial coatings unit of BASF Coatings, which the company defines as a strategic global core business, offers complete coating systems, from pre-treatment to finishing. The company's aim is global growth in the key technologies of coil, wood, foil and powder coatings as well as UV curable coatings, and last year it took a major step forward on that road. The increased use of innovative coating systems confirms its focus on environment-friendly and at the same time economic - in other words, eco-efficient - coating systems. The concept of partnership in cooperating with selected business partners is in place in this business as well. By utilizing synergies between neighboring businesses, for instance between industrial coatings and automotive OEM coatings, BASF Coatings offers additional benefits. The BASF NOF Coatings joint venture launched in 2000 made the company the first western coatings manufacturer with production and marketing on the ground in Japan, and thus the first global player, in the classic sense, in the coatings sector. The joint venture strengthens the company's market position in automotive OEM and industrial coatings. The powder coatings, coil coatings, plastic coatings and UV coatings of NOF are a perfect fit supplementing the product portfolio of BASF Coatings. The BASF Shanghai Coatings joint venture, set up in 1995, works to expand the industrial coatings business in China. It will initially focus on coatings for plastics, wood, and motorcycles. In 1998 the company successfully launched its European foil coating technology in North America, Brazil and Argentina. The water-thinnable coating systems used in this application - which in future will be developed into radiation-cured 100-percent systems - offer lasting gains in production speed because they cure extremely fast. These coating systems are applied to paper foil with wood-grain or fancy-design prints used as a veneer substitute in the furniture and wood-base material industries. In view of the steep rise in global demand for powder coatings, the company is selectively expanding its powder coatings position around the globe. In 2000, the new BASF powder coatings plant at the US site of Morganton, North Carolina, came on stream. With an annual production capacity of 10,000 metric tons in the first stage, the plant will boost BASF's industrial coatings business and also expand its position in the automotive paints market in this region. Powder coatings are used for domestic appliances, radiators and the pipeline industry, and for other industrial applications. Powder coatings have now developed potentials in the automotive industry as well, such as for primer-surfacer coats and clearcoats, for example.