Katja Scharpwinkel new head of Automotive Refinish Coatings Solutions Europe business unit

Dr. Katja Scharpwinkel took over the position as head of the Automotive Refinish Coatings Solutions Europe business unit at BASF's Coatings division in Münster effective February 1, 2016. She succeeds Harald Pflanzl, who was appointed head of the BASF Group's Central Europe unit in Vienna effective the same date.

Scharpwinkel has held various positions throughout her career, primarily in marketing and sales at Ciba and Cognis. After BASF's acquisition of Cognis, she was first appointed head of Sales in the Formulation Technologies unit. Starting in February 2012, she managed the business of BASF's European distributor of specialty chemicals, BTC Europe.

About BASF’s Coatings division
BASF’s Coatings division develops, produces and markets innovative automotive coatings, automotive refinishes and industrial coatings as well as decorative paints. We operate sites in Europe, North America and South America as well as Asia Pacific. Within this network, we collaborate closely with our customers all over the world. In 2014, the Coatings division achieved global sales of about €3 billion. More information about the division is available at www.basf-coatings.com.

About BASF
At BASF, we create chemistry – and have been doing so for 150 years. Our portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. As the world’s leading chemical company, we combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. Through science and innovation, we enable our customers in nearly every industry to meet the current and future needs of society. Our products and solutions contribute to conserving resources, ensuring nutrition and improving quality of life. We have summed up this contribution in our corporate purpose: We create chemistry for a sustainable future. BASF had sales of over €74 billion in 2014 and around 113,000 employees as of the end of the year. 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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