| BASF opens new coatings manufacturing plant
in Monterrey, Mexico
Customers will benefit from faster delivery, local color matching,
enhanced service
MONTERREY, Mexico, December 17, 2004 -- BASF’s coil coatings
customers in the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon will benefit from faster
product delivery and an enhanced level of service, thanks to a new
paint-on-demand (POD) manufacturing plant in Monterrey.
The state-of-the-art plant is a satellite operation of BASF’s
site in Tultitlan. The plant will provide small-batch production
and delivery of products to major coil coaters based in the region.
In addition to production capabilities for batches of 1,000 liters
or smaller, the new facility includes a laboratory and technical
service facilities. The plant will initially employ 10 people who
will be responsible for local production and supply, field technical
support, development of new colors and color matching.
"Helping our customers to be more successful is one of our
most important goals," said Peter Fischer, Managing Director
of BASF Coatings de Mexico. "The new facility will help us
achieve that goal by bringing BASF close to our key coil coatings
customers in Mexico. The new paint-on-demand capability will enable
us to provide effective service and shorten product delivery lead
times to less than five days."
Thomas Hoenle, Director of BASF’s Industrial Coatings business
in North America, said, "Mexico is the important growth market
for coil coatings in North America, and our strategy focuses on
partnering with our key customers, forming a 'high-performance'
team consisting of technical, manufacturing and marketing experts,
and offering our customers the best solutions to their needs –
an approach that BASF calls 'zero headaches.'"
The new BASF plant will manufacture coatings utilizing several
technologies to meet a variety of customer requirements and specifications.
The products produced in the plant will include BASF’s Fluoroceram
PVDF coatings as well as Polyceram 3100 and 3200 polyester coatings.
The plant will also produce BASF’s new Superl SP II ULTRA-Cool
siliconized polyester, an innovative "cool" coating that
offers high reflectivity in a wide range of colors, including medium
and dark colors. By keeping the interiors of buildings cooler, without
sacrificing color selection, BASF’s cool coatings help to
reduce the consumption of energy used for cooling, an important
consideration in warm and sunny climates like Mexico’s.
BASF - The Chemical Company. We don't make a lot of the
products you buy. We make a lot of the products you buy better.®
BASF Corporation, headquartered in New Jersey, is the North American
affiliate of BASF AG, Ludwigshafen, Germany. We employ about 11,000
people in North America and had sales of approximately $9 billion
in 2003. For more information about BASF’s North American
operations, or to sign up to receive news releases by e-mail, visit
www.basf.com/usa.
BASF is the world’s leading chemical company. Our goal is
to grow profitably and further increase the value of our company.
We help our customers to be more successful through intelligent
system solutions and high-quality products. BASF’s portfolio
ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products, agricultural
products and fine chemicals to crude oil and natural gas. Through
new technologies we can tap into additional market opportunities.
We conduct our business in accordance with the principles of sustainable
development. In 2003, BASF had sales of approximately $42 billion.
BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS),
London (BFA), New York (BF), Paris (BA) and Zurich (AN). Further
information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com.
About BASF Coatings de México
BASF Coatings de México employs approximately 400 people.
Its headquarters and largest manufacturing plants are located in
Tultitlán, north of Mexico City. In addition of coil coatings,
BASF Coatings de México produces high quality automotive
OEM coatings, mainly primers, waterborne and solventborne basecoats
and clear-coats. In this segment BASF Coatings de México
holds the leading position in the Mexican market and exports to
the United States. Last year the company won the GM Supplier of
the Year award, and this year the VW Group Award for suppliers in
the NAFTA region.
For more information, contact:
Andy Ladak
BASF
Tel: (248) 948-2088
E-mail: ladaka@basf.com
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