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15 марта 2007 г.

No problems - just challenges and brain teasers


Münster/Saarlouis/Detroit. Over the past few years, Ford has bestowed a number of accolades on BASF Coatings, including three Gold World Excellence Awards, with BASF Coatings the only paint supplier to be so honored. In addition, BASF Coatings was selected to be part of Ford’s envied “Aligned Business Framework”, the circle of the company’s preferred suppliers throughout the world. As part of Ford's "Way Forward" program, the two companies have teamed up and are pulling out all the stops. A number of successes can be attributed to BASF systems. The partnership at the Ford site in Saarlouis, the home of the Focus and C-Max models, is one example of this.

Since 2000 BASF Coatings has been the single source supplier at the Saarlouis site in southwestern Germany. The nine-member BASF team on-site covers responsibilities such as material management, disposition, and the logistics for the entire supply process. Other responsibilities, such as quality management, are carried out along with the Ford staff. During the application process itself, the service team takes care of and supports the production process and along with Ford, optimizes quality and costs. At the Saarlouis plant, plastic add-on parts are painted separately, and BASF Coatings’ ColorCARE system ensures perfect color-matching during assembly. The cost per unit (CPU) system is used for invoicing, which means that BASF Coatings is paid for each body that leaves the paintline with a perfect finish. In this case, “systematic” success means much more than simply checking off the tasks that have been agreed to in writing. The two team leaders, Joachim Pink, BASF Ford Coatings Process Service Saarlouis, Automotive OEM Coatings Solutions, and Roland Goepfert, responsible for coatings and plastics production at Ford Saarlouis, see to it that BASF systems are put to optimal use. “We’re not just a paint supplier; we’re completely integrated into operations at Ford. The ‘open-door’ principle inspires a great deal of creativity on both sides. To put it in a nutshell, we’re shaping the future together,” says Pink. Goepfert adds, “During our daily work together, our partnership triggers a lot of ideas that we can develop together and implement consistently.”
For both of them, Electric Orange is a prime example. The bright orange finish on the Ford Focus ST turns heads on the roads, and orders for the model have exceeded all expectations. However, before it could be launched, the team had to do research, experiment, and keep reinventing their creativity. “We and our team brought this color to life. As with many projects, the way we see it, there aren’t any problems, just challenges and brain teasers. The words, ‘That won’t work’ just aren’t part of our vocabulary,” says Goepfert. The paint system calls for cathodic electrodisposition and primer, followed by four layers of paint: solid-color basecoat, a clearcoat, on top of that a special-effect layer, and then another layer of clearcoat - setting it clearly apart from the standard paint system. But this also calls for an intermediary step in the application process, in turn requiring additional space, which was not available in this case. Meeting this challenge under the given technical conditions with minimal investments posed a mental challenge that the BASF Coatings group and the Ford Saarlouis engineering crew could only master in close cooperation, in other words: genuine teamwork. The color’s popularity attests to its success.

One thing is clear for Joachim Pink and Roland Goepfert: “Our partnership is based on trust and requires a great deal of creativity as we strive for consistent development and pursue the goal of shaping our future together.”

Jeff Leone, BASF’s Global Account Director for Ford, is continuing to pull out all the stops for Ford and cheers on his team every day. “We received the World Excellence Awards for top performance in the areas of cost, quality, and delivery. We’re sticking with our partners and friends at Ford. We are committed to being the premier provider of solutions for the automotive industry, not only by delivering superior products, but also by providing innovative technological solutions and application processes.” Ford and BASF Coatings are partners that will continue to give all they’ve got together.

BASF : A major international player in coatings

BASF Coatings AG belongs to the global Coatings Division of the BASF Group. In 2006 the Coatings Division achieved world sales of about 2.3 billion euros. The Coatings Division develops, produces and markets a high-quality range of innovative automotive OEM coatings, automotive refinishes and industrial coatings as well as decorative paints, and also the processes needed to apply them. In this business, eco-efficient water-based, powder and high-solids coatings as well as radiation-curable systems play a special part. In Brazil, the company has been successful in the decorative paints market for years and holds the leading position. BASF has a major, global presence in the Coatings sector, with significant market positions in Europe, North America, South America and the Asia/Pacific region, for example with affiliates in Australia, China, India, Japan, and the Philippines. The internet address of BASF Coatings is www.basf-coatings.com


BASF Automotive Solutions. Performance Passion Success

BASF – The Chemical Company – is a leading-edge source of intelligent sustainable solutions to automotive manufacturers and their suppliers worldwide. With a full portfolio of technologies that include coatings, catalysts, engineering thermoplastics, polyurethanes, pigments and colorants, coolants and brake fluids for a broad array of exterior, interior, chassis and under-the-hood applications, BASF – The Chemical Company - develops and delivers the innovations that help the automotive industry improve the quality, appearance, safety, cost competitiveness, performance, comfort, fuel efficiency, sustainability. Website: www.automotive.basf.com

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