BASF Coatings – Driving Surface Solutions

General Motors presented BASF Coatings with a 2024 Supplier of the Year Award at GM’s 33rd annual Supplier of the Year event in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. “Our long-standing partnership with General Motors has been built over years of collaboration, shared values and a steadfast commitment to creating innovative solutions for our valued customer,” said Uta Holzenkamp, president of BASF Coatings.

BASF Coatings and Li Auto Inc., a leader in China’s new energy vehicle market, have announced the signing of a Memorandum of Strategic Cooperation, with the primary goal of promoting and implementing painting innovations powered by sustainability and digital innovations. They will collaboratively explore the field of new low-carbon emission material technologies, and establish a joint innovation platform to develop new materials and processes.

BASF’s Coatings division has successfully expanded its production capacity for polyester and polyurethane resin at its Caojing plant in Shanghai, China. Originally established in 2015 with an annual capacity of 8,000 metric tons of polyester and polyurethane resin, the plant has now increased its capacity to 18,800 metric tons per year — a more than twofold increase.

One hundred years ago, the scarlet macaw became part of Glasurit’s protected logo and the face of the Glasurit brand. On March 18th, 2025, Glasurit is celebrating the 100^th birthday of the scarlet macaw – and just before International Color Day, Glasurit will launch globally a “100 Colorful Years” campaign including a year-long series of engaging activities and events designed to bring customers and employees around the globe together.

BASF Coatings steps up its efforts to drive transformational change in the automotive refinish industry by continuing its mission to support young car painters worldwide. With its premium paint brand Glasurit, BASF continues to be the exclusive Global Industry Partner to WorldSkills International in the car painting skills category.

BASF Coatings and NIO, a pioneer in the global smart electric vehicle market, have announced the signing of a Letter of Intent (LoI) aimed at establishing a strategic partnership to enhance cooperation in the automotive coatings sector. This collaboration marks a significant step towards achieving a long-term and mutually beneficial relationship, focusing on automotive exterior coatings for NIO’s electric vehicles.

Chemetall successfully implemented an advanced photovoltaic system at its Boksburg site in South Africa. The new state-of-the-art photovoltaic system includes 1,725 square meters of solar panels installed on the site’s roofs, as well as 600 kW battery storage systems. It is predicted to reduce 92% of CO₂ emission in Boksburg.

BASF and Sherwin-Williams have signed an agreement on the sale of the Brazilian decorative paints business, which is part of BASF’s Coatings division. The purchase price on a cash and debt-free basis is $1.15 billion. The transaction is structured as a share deal and includes the production sites in Demarchi and Jaboatão, the related contracts, the Suvinil and Glasu! brands, and the around 1,000 employees.

BASF’s Coatings division has successfully transitioned to 100% renewable electricity at its North American sites in Greenville, Ohio, and Blackman Township in Jackson County, Michigan, effective January 2025. The switch to renewable electricity will bring a significant reduction of more than 11,000 tons of CO₂ emissions annually, benefiting, benefiting both BASF Coatings’ operations and customers.

BASF’s Coatings division announces that BMW Group has selected the premium refinish brands Glasurit and R-M among their preferred paint brands for its aftersales network. This strategic partnership includes 50 markets where BMW Group is not present with its private label. The Glasurit 100 Line AraClass and R-M Agilis Pioneer Series product portfolio are set to reshape the future of body shops worldwide with its commitment to sustainability and high-performance solutions.

In 2024, the global automotive color landscape is evolving as consumers move away from traditional favorites like white and silver. This shift is paving the way for increased popularity of vibrant hues, warm neutrals, and a more diverse palette across the industry, as stated by BASF Coatings in the latest Color Report for Automotive OEM Coatings. 

BASF (China) Co., Ltd. and Bosch Automotive Technology Service (Beijing) Co., Ltd. jointly signed a memorandum of understanding at Automechanika Shanghai to collaborate on the automotive aftermarket business. This partnership aims to create an innovative platform that enhances the automotive refinish sector, delivering higher quality and more sustainable solutions.

BASF Coatings and Koch International, an international logistics service provider based in Osnabrück, have successfully tested the use of electric trucks for long distances and have now implemented this sustainable transport solution for BASF Coatings in long-distance transport.

3M and BASF’s Coatings division announced a collaboration to co-develop and deliver new standard operating procedures (SOPs) and training content to the collision repair industry. The new SOPs will be tailored to help body shops achieve greater sustainability and productivity within the automotive refinish process. 

Every year, designers from BASF’s Coatings division create a new collection of colors to inspire automotive designers around the globe. “ROUTING”, the title of the 2024-2025 Automotive Color Trends, refers to the concept of “routing” in communication technology which signifies how information is transmitted.

The automotive color concept EFFLORESCENCE from BASF effectively demonstrates the compatibility of sustainability and design values. The monocoat combines all of its functionalities in a single layer – including a pearl-like visual effect without the use of traditional effect pigments. This unique approach has now been recognized within the Red Dot Award: Design Concept.

At this year's 47th WorldSkills Competition held in Lyon, France, more than 1,400 competitors from around 70 countries and regions took part in the event. BASF’s Coatings division, as the exclusive global industry partner for the Car Painting skill, supported the young talents and experts from around the world with its Glasurit 100 Line.

BASF Coatings officially introduced new product lines at Automechanika 2024. Further driving sustainability in the refinish industry, BASF’s next generation of clearcoats employs the company’s unique ChemCycling technology. The product lines, manufactured using recycled feedstock, are marketed under BASF’s premium brands Glasurit^® and R-M^®.

BASF's Coatings division has official inaugurated its new Application and Technical Center in Jiangmen, China. Located within the site of BASF Coatings (Guangdong) Co., Ltd. (BCG), the center marks another major milestone in the continuous expansion of BASF Coatings’ global refinish technology network.

Panasonic, one of the world's leading luminaire manufacturers, incorporates BASF's optical film NovaFlex GlareControl for its new study luminaire "SHIYUE". The innovative film offers excellent anti-glare properties, allowing the product to meet the highest performance level of a new standard set by the China Quality Certification Center. 

Markus Dinslacken, former Chief Human Resources Officer, Fresenius Kabi AG, Bad Homburg, will take over the management of the Global People & Culture Coatings unit and the position of Managing Director at BASF Coatings GmbH on September 1. BASF Coatings has approximately 11,600 employees at 70 sites worldwide.

BASF's Coatings division has successfully renewed its agreement to procure 100% renewable electricity at its automotive OEM coatings manufacturing operations in Shanghai, China. The company will continue to power its BASF Shanghai Coatings Minhang and Caojing sites, as well as the BASF Coatings' resin plant in Caojing, solely with green power.

The official BASF Coatings LinkedIn channel is now live! This new platform provides us with a dedicated digital space to connect and engage with our stakeholders, including you. Join our global community and follow us to stay updated on insights, inspiration, and the latest developments in coatings excellence.
 

The color ZENOMENON, designed by BASF's Coatings division, was the only automotive paint to be honored this year at the Red Dot Award: Product Design.The innovative technology and the special aesthetics of the coating have impressed the experts on the Red Dot jury in the "Materials and Surfaces" category.

BASF's Coatings division announced the expansion of e-coat manufacturing facility at its Mangalore site. This strategic expansion is driven by the growing demand for e-coat solutions by local automotive OEM customers in India, as well as customers in the South Asian and ASEAN markets. 

Four years ago, BASF amazed the refinish paint world by introducing Glasurit 100 Line, a new waterborne basecoat system from its premium paint brand. Now that more than 1,000 body shops across 20 countries have adopted 100 Line, BASF has updated its data to back up its claims of being even more productive, with the highest process efficiency and product quality, and the lowest VOC content ever.

BASF has been recognized by General Motors (GM) as a 2023 Supplier of the Year. This year's win marks the 17th time that BASF has been honored with the Supplier of the Year award in the 32-year history of GM's recognition program. BASF’s Coatings division supplies several different products to GM – from anti-corrosion surface treatments to a rainbow of brilliant topcoat colors and shiny clearcoats.