R-M Brand Awards Best Automotive Refinish Painters
MUENSTER, Germany– R-M®, premium automotive refinish paint brand of BASF, has announced the winners of its 12th International R-M Best Painter Contest. Berry Kooijmam from the Netherlands is the 2016 R-M Best Painter winner, followed by runner-up Genya Yokota from Japan and Myles Veljacic from Canada in third place. This year, for the first time, the R-M jury also honored the most “sustainable” painter. Myles Veljacic from Canada proved to be the most talented participant when it comes to efficient and sustainable use of paint-related materials. The R-M team, business partners including EMM, 3M, SATA, DeVILBISS, RUPES, as well as guests congratulated the winners and all 15 finalists from Europe, South Africa, Japan and Canada for their excellent results in this final competition in which they demonstrated their strong commitment to representing the business with both top-level expertise and innovative and sustainable thinking. The event took place on September 29, 2016 and was organized in a climate neutral manner.
“We are very proud of R-M’s initiative to encourage young talents in all our different countries to commit to work more efficiently and sustainably. We ensure high training standards in our Refinish Competence Centers worldwide and develop innovative solutions for our bodyshop customers to meet the market's current demands for boosting their productivity and eco-efficiency, including in their local markets,” said Dr. Katja Scharpwinkel, Senior Vice President Automotive Refinish Coatings Solutions Europe. Among the 15 finalists R-M considers to be its “next generation” were two women, one from South Africa and one from Germany. Canada participated in the R-M Best Painter Contest for the first time.