Dubai and more (CP 2/2009)

BASF Coatings is the right partner for the dynamically growing companies in the Middle East

The desert is alive – the same can also be said of the activities of BASF Coatings in the Middle East. The construction industry in the Persian Gulf relies on BASF for such products as coil coatings.

Likewise, many of the flashy automobiles sport paintwork from BASF Coatings, with the automotive refinishing business experiencing a boom in this region. Two people who realized the potential of this growing region early on thanks to key figures and clear business plans are Country Manager Arie Verboon and Business Development Manager Dave Jerrison.

Under the hot desert sun, the Dutch and the Brit keep it cool, working persistently on achieving their goal: the marketing of premium coatings.

In addition to innovative customer solutions and a local presence, anyone looking to successfully do business in the Middle East over the long term requires experience and trust.

BASF Coatings is selling via various importers automotive refinish products in the region for over 30 years. In early 2007, Arie Verboon, who was previously responsible for Eastern Europe, switched to the metropolis of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the international commercial center of Dubai.

He settled in the Jebel Ali free trade zone in Dubai, the headquarters of the BASF representation, where the BASF Kanoo Gulf FZE team with seven employees looks after the direct marketing of automotive refinish products in the United Arab Emirates and supports importers in neighboring countries.

The contacts and partnerships extend as far as Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iran as well as to countries in Central Africa such as Tanzania and Kenya.

The fact that the team’s headquarters are based here is no coincidence. Almost all of the automobile brands represented in the Middle East have their regional headquarters in Dubai.

Exciting market

“In the growing automobile market of the Middle East, we are now benefiting immensely from the constant local contact with our customers,” says Verboon. “Although also here in the Middle East we feel the global economical downturn, the UAE car park is still growing and all the cars do need services and repairs to preserve their visual appearance – a case for products and service offerings from BASF Coatings.”

In the Middle East, there are numerous large state-of-the-art workshops with high quality standards. “The region is an exciting market for our quality products in the A-segment, which is for large automobile brands. There couldn’t be a better place for our knowledge and experience,” says Verboon.

Just how well Glasurit, a paint brand of BASF Coatings, fits in with Dubai is reflected in the recent success story with Automax, a company offering automotive repairs and refinishing work. The company swears by the environmentally friendly Glasurit 90 Line of waterborne basecoats.

However, BASF is not just supplying the paint. It is also training Automax employees in the use of 90 Line. In addition, the experts at BASF Coatings provide support for problems arising in the application process on site. Automax is growing. By fall, the company in Dubai is set to open three more shops in other emirates of the UAE.

Automax is a state-of-the-art, high-tech service center. The company’s comprehensive range of offerings include major and minor repairs, full body and paint shop facilities, diagnostics, emission control, electrical and AC repairs, tires and alloy wheels, multimedia, audio and video installations, upholstery, accessories, warranty pack-ages and advice on insurance matters.

When Iqbal Rauf, General Manager of Automax, started operations back in 2008, he knew that Glasurit would be his product of choice for the company’s refinishing work. “At my previous place of employment, I had already worked with Glasurit paints and got to know the products’ high quality first hand.

On top of that, I am convinced by Glasurit’s intensive and competent customer service,” Rauf said.

Inauguration of the Automax Center: Dave Jerrison, Glasurit Business Development Middle East (left picture, left). Right picture, from left: Max Shaw (Chairman, GBS Group including Automax), Sultan Al Samahi (guest of honor), Iqbal Rauf (General Manager, Automax Service Center).

Waterborne basecoats in Oman

In the sultanate of Oman, the Glasurit paint brand of BASF Coatings is also on the road to success. More and more workshops are relying on this premium brand, with two new body shops having only recently been added.

“High-quality products on their own are not enough when it comes to acquiring customers. We were also able to offer these workshops comprehensive support and training seminars.

This has certainly contributed to the success. No other coatings provider in Oman provides its customers with such a comprehensive service offering,” says Hendrik Franke, Global Trainer of the Coatings Refinish Academy. And Glasurit is the only offering available here with environmentally friendly, waterborne basecoats.

One of the two new Glasurit customers is the Sayarti body shop in Muscat. The twelve spray painters complete eight to nine jobs per day. This makes the Sayarti body shop one of the leading workshops in the capital of Oman and is also set to expand over the course of this year.

The body shop is part of Sayarti LLC, a company with which BASF Coatings has fostered a close partnership for a number of months now.

One important customer for the Glasurit 90 Line paints is BMW Muscat. This body shop has two spray booths and six spray painters at its disposal. The Glasurit/Sayarti team, responsible for developing business in Oman, has every reason to be pleased.

“We have made significant progress in the market and are working very closely together with our partner Dave Jerrison – the responsible Glasurit business development manager in Dubai. We are certain that more and more body shops are recognizing the benefits of Glasurit and changing over to Glasurit paints,” says Carl Roy of Sayarti.

And somehow the Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai is symbolic for business under the desert sun. This main highway has seven lanes and nearly everyone is in the fast lane. There is certainly a great deal going on in Dubai… “maa saalama” (goodbye).

www.glasurit.com