AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands - AkzoNobel Automotive Plastic Coatings (APC) has garnered a win for its primerless waterborne basecoat system. Daimler Benz has approved the system for use on plastic bumpers and rocker panels produced by China-based supplier JJ/Minghua. According to AkzoNobel APC’s Director Marketing & Sales, Thierry Paulhan, Daimler set the bar quite high with its strongly stated preference for the two-layer coating system consisting of the waterborne basecoat and clearcoat. AkzoNobel APC is the first coatings supplier to win approval of a primerless system.

 

“This is a state-of-the-art system that is quite difficult to implement,” said Paulhan. “But with the expertise of our technical services people already familiar with the system in Germany, and solid support from our APC team in China, we were able to demonstrate our capability and win Daimler’s approval. It’s a major opportunity for us.” The system was launched in early October 2009.

 

“We’re especially pleased to get approval from Daimler Benz here in China because the Chinese automotive market is expected to grow rapidly for quite some time,” said Guowen Chen, AkzoNobel APC National Sales Manager for China. “We’re well positioned to grow with Daimler Benz and to offer the system to other OEMs as well.”