BASF Coatings Services (Pty) Ltd. takes over major auto body and paint company in South Africa

Pretoria/Münster. BASF Coatings Services (Pty) Ltd. is set to take over the business of MAB Auto Body Parts and Paint Centre Ltd. in Johannesburg, South Africa. MAB sales activities related to automotive refinish products, non-paint products, body panels and services, as well as the staff and parts of the management, will be integrated into BASF Coatings Services (Pty) Ltd. The two companies have not disclosed information on the purchase price. The takeover will become official about two months after authorization by the local competition commission has been granted.
Glasurit, BASF Coatings’ paint brand, is already very successful in South Africa. With the acquisition of MAB, BASF Coatings is now strengthening its good position in South Africa on a long-term basis, especially in the key region of Gauteng.

The automotive refinishing market in South Africa is one of Africa’s largest markets. Fifty percent of the continent’s vehicles are found on the roads of South Africa. Seven carmakers manufacture cars in South Africa. In addition, there are over 1,000 paint and bodyshops in South Africa.

MAB has sold products and services for all aspects of automotive refinishing for 14 years from its locations in Johannesburg and Pretoria. So far, as BASF’s partner, MAB has primarily supplied customers in the Gauteng and Limpopo regions, as well as the Northern Free States, with Glasurit and Salcomix automotive refinish products. In the future, business relations with the end customers will be managed and developed by the sales team that was taken over. Order processing, product storage and supplying customers will also continue to be managed from Johannesburg and Pretoria.

“We are using these measures to guarantee the customer the usual services with familiar contact persons in Johannesburg and Pretoria,” explained Rob Simpson, Managing Director of BASF Coatings Services (Pty) Ltd. “We’ll be combining the two companies’ many years of experience in a sensible manner, and this will allow us to develop even more attractive services for our customers. The customers will continue to be the focus of our work and will be gleaning substantial benefits from the merger,” Simpson added.

About BASF Coatings
BASF Coatings, the Coatings Division of the BASF Group, develops, produces and markets a high-quality range of innovative automotive OEM coatings, automotive refinishes and industrial coatings as well as decorative paints. BASF has significant market positions in the Coatings sector in Europe, North America, South America and the Asia/Pacific region. In 2007 BASF Coatings achieved global sales of almost 2.6 billion euros. The internet address of BASF Coatings is www.basf-coatings.com

About BASF
BASF is the world’s leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from oil and gas to chemicals, plastics, performance products, agricultural products and fine chemicals. As a reliable partner BASF helps its customers in virtually all industries to be more successful. With its high-value products and intelligent solutions, BASF plays an important role in finding answers to global challenges such as climate protection, energy efficiency, nutrition and mobility. BASF has more than 95,000 employees and posted sales of almost €58 billion in 2007. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN). Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com.

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