BASF plans to boost production capacity for waterborne and solvent-borne automotive paint coatings in Thailand with a new factory on its Bangpoo site.
The new plant will complement the supplier's Coatings Technical Competence Centre ASEAN, opened in September 2015, and includes a laboratory for product development, performance testing, colour design, as well as a small batch production unit.
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Car production in ASEAN was 3.8m units in 2015. Thailand is the region's hub and the largest coatings market within ASEAN, followed by Indonesia and Malaysia.The expansion will better serve the strong demand from the expanding automotive industry in the region, BASF said.
Peter Fischer, who heads the supplier's Asia Pacific operations said: "We have been active in the automotive coatings industry [in ASEAN] for more than 10 years with a particularly strong foothold in Thailand. This commitment has made us the number one motorcycle coatings supplier [there]. We now are stepping up our investment to serve not only motorcycle, but also car customers."
"Our growth and investment plans go hand in hand with our customers' expansion plans. With increasing number of car and motorcycle OEMs engaging in production and marketing activities in ASEAN, it's our top priority to provide a high degree of technical service and to increase our local supply capability in order to satisfy their needs for innovative coatings solutions and products. We will continue to strengthen our presence in ASEAN and also invest in doubling the number of technical and customer servicing experts in the next few years."
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