SHANGHAI AND FOSHAN, China — BASF, together with its long-term partner and customer, Guangdong TGPM Automotive Industry Group Co. Ltd. (TGPM), inaugurated the BASF-TGPM Automotive Refinish Competence Center (RCC). This new training platform and brand experience center, located in Foshan, Guangdong Province, China, will serve customers from around Asia.

Foshan is a regional center for the automotive industry in China and Asia. This new center will meet the needs from the entire value chain in one multi-functional complex. Occupying almost 1,800 square meters on two floors, it houses facilities such as preparation bays, spray booths, and mixing islands, as well as a spacious gallery area, and various lecture and conference rooms for training, visualized experiences and customer interaction.

“The new facility underpins BASF’s commitment to this growing market by investing in production sites as well as in training facilities and capabilities,” said Peter Fischer, Senior Vice President, Coatings Solutions Asia Pacific, BASF. “To innovate with impact and to drive high performance are two of BASF's strategic principles. This is exactly what we want to achieve at our new Refinish Competence Center in Foshan. We want our customers to experience the world-class service of BASF in a way they never have.”

The facility is part of TGPM, a leading automotive chemical and auto parts manufacturing company based in Foshan. BASF has been partnering with TGPM for more than 20 years. Xu Qiaohua, Chairman & General Manager, said, “The combination of BASF’s advanced technology and solutions with our experience in automotive parts, chemical applications and our network in China will further upgrade the training offerings and field tests for our customers. Chinese car owners will benefit from our safe, high-quality coating products and services.” To share with customers the passion for cars, TGPM is building a racing track of 4.7 kilometers within its premise.

BASF has a global network of almost 80 Refinish Competence Centers worldwide. BASF invests in first-class training infrastructure and a team of experts to address customers’ needs for high performance in the automotive industry. Seven of the centers are located across China, providing local customers with technical and commercial trainings and consultancy for business excellence.  Each RCC serves as a training hub and marketing platform to share innovations and promote industry standards.

The RCC in Foshan will feature the premium brands of BASF’s automotive refinish coatings portfolio, including Glasurit^®, R-M^®, the efficiency program Vision360™ with Advanced Bodyshop Solutions (ABS), and the paint-related products from RODIM^®. BASF is committed to providing customers with new, eco-efficient solutions for sustainable market success, such as waterborne basecoats and integrated processes, which will help lower emissions of VOCs and protect the environment.

To ensure the best performance of BASF’s coating systems, the RCC will provide training seminars with curriculum designed according to the practical needs of body shops in Asian markets.