Dynamo on two wheels (CP 2/2009)

BASF Coatings is stepping up its involvement in the ASEAN region. The future is extremely bright for motorcycle coatings.

Armada: In Asia, mobility means motorcycles – the growing market offers great opportunities for BASF Coatings. (Picture: Yamaha Motor)

The population increase, urbanization and economic growth are all long-term trends that will be continuing in Asia in the future. And these trends give rise to growing mobility. On Asia’s roads, this means not only more cars, but more motorcycles, too, which are prominently featured in sprawling Asian cityscapes from Mumbai to Manila.

For some time now, the ASEAN nations have been especially active in the production of motorcycles. The world’s leading manufacturers produce two-wheelers in countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam. The market will continue to grow.

BASF Coatings, a world leader in paints for cars and commercial vehicles, has also supplied coating materials for motorcycles for years. Its key success factors are its global presence in all important markets, close partnerships with its customers, technological competence and innovative products.

The company is now expanding this profile in the ASEAN region with its focus on motorcycle paints.

Close to the customer

In January 2009, BASF took over the motorcycle coatings business in the ASEAN region, in which it had previously operated as part of a joint venture. Now BASF has the sole operational responsibility and can thus provide its expertise to the motorcycle producers directly.

Thailand’s EASON Paint PLC has taken over the production of the coatings as a toll manufacturer. This is the next chapter of many years of successful cooperation between BASF and the Thai coatings producer, which has expanded its business operations beyond the borders of its home country.

The new business structure consolidates competencies and offers the customers numerous benefits. The quality standards for coatings – color design and scratch and chemical resistance – are constantly -rising, as are requirements for efficient and environmentally friendly application processes.

Now, a proven paint expert will be ensuring that these standards are met and on top of that, will be able to support the entire ASEAN region. Thailand is by far the national market with the highest demand for motorcycle coatings, but other ASEAN countries are quickly catching up.

For example, motorcycle manufacturers in Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines are now also looking for suppliers of approved high-quality paints. The newly created set-up of BASF Coatings in the ASEAN region provides an excellent platform to meet such requirements.

With its multinational structures, BASF Coatings can support customers’ needs with new products and comprehensive service, as demonstrated by the current technological successes achieved from its innovation network.

Just recently, line trials were successfully completed for a waterborne coating that also allows efficient electrostatic application to plastic parts. The paint system was developed by BASF Coatings in Japan, and so the higher efficiencies directly benefit the customers in the ASEAN region.

Another example is a UV coating which was also developed by BASF in Japan. The twin-cure system (combining UV and thermal curing) offers the customers a quick and environmentally friendly curing solution.

In order to further boost its innovation capacity, BASF is setting up a Technical Center in Thailand that is dedicated to the development of coatings in all areas of work. This Technical Center will consolidate BASF know-how from the various markets and, together with its experts in the region, will offer new product developments even faster and more efficiently.

A promising market

“As a transnational company, BASF is in an outstanding position. Our activities in the ASEAN region have now given us a face the customers can recognize. They know the quality they can expect from us,“ said Jongluck Nitikitpaibool, summing up the advantages of the new presence.

She has been the head of BASF’s coatings business in the ASEAN region since fall 2008. “And our offer is not just limited to paints for motorcycles, since our realignment also extends to the automotive OEM and industrial coatings sectors,“ she explained. It’s a perspective that will pay off.

After all, the coatings market in ASEAN, with a total volume of approximately 2.8 billion euros, accounts for about 15% of the coatings business in Asia Pacific (2007).

“In the medium term, our primary focus in the ASEAN region will be on motorcycles,” explained Nitikitpaibool. And this goes hand in hand with the strategies of the motorcycle producers.

The four big international manufacturers, Honda Motor Co. Ltd, Kawasaki Motors Co. Ltd, Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd, and Suzuki Motor Corporation, are increasingly using other locations beyond their previous core countries for their activities. “In this area, we see great opportunities and are determined to expand our position,” said Nitikitpaibool.

It’s a strategy that is already bearing fruit. Shortly after the transaction in December 2008, Yamaha Motor Philippines Inc. placed a new order with BASF for the supply of four motorcycle colors.

www.basf-coatings.com
www.yamaha-motor.com.ph