LUDWIGSHAFEN, Germany – BASF has inaugurated BASF Coatings (Guangdong) Co. Ltd., its first automotive refinish manufacturing operation in Asia-Pacific, located in Jiangmen, Guangdong Province, China. The new entity was established as BASF completed the acquisition of the automotive refinish coatings business of Guangdong Yinfan Chemistry Co. Ltd.

“With the establishment of BASF Coatings (Guangdong) Co. Ltd., we are better positioned to support our customers by leveraging the well-established distribution network, technology, broaden product portfolio and unique industry expertise from BASF and legacy Yinfan,” said Stephan Kothrade, President Functions Asia Pacific and President & Chairman Greater China, BASF. The products manufactured at the facility broaden BASF’s portfolio of global brands, especially in the rapidly expanding value-for-money segment. The new brands, including Yinfan^®, Shancai^® and Yindi^®, complement BASF’s premium and own value-for-money offer of refinish paint systems and services under the Glasurit^®, R-M^®, baslac^® and NORBIN^® brands.

China’s roads were home to around 172 million vehicles as of the end of 2015, and sales are expected to rise to 30 million vehicles per year through 2020. “With this investment, we are strengthening our position in the Chinese refinish market. We establish a local presence with full capability to serve the growing value-for-money market with a product offer according to the local market needs. Our new acquisition, strategically located in the fast-growing Chinese market, will also serve as a technology and production hub to support our refinish business operations across the Asia-Pacific region,” said Peter Fischer, Senior Vice President, Coatings Solutions Asia Pacific.

The manufacturing facility offers a comprehensive portfolio of automotive paints, along with other applications including solutions for buses and earth-moving equipment. Together, these brands offer a full system of refinish coatings solutions including basecoats, topcoats, putty, primer, fillers, toners, clearcoats, hardeners, thinners, dry accelerate additives and blenders.