tiresandparts.net8Can you please tell us how you got into the automotive business in the first place?I got into the automotive industry more than 20 years ago, of which more than 15 years were in automotive coatings. Axalta is my second job and I am now based in Singapore. Prior to that, I was with DuPont since 2002 where I held a variety of positions in Asia Pacific including Sales Director Asia Pacific and Business Director Asia Pacific (excluding China and Japan), Business Manager Industrial Coatings Asia Pacific, Strategic Planning Manager for Asia Pacific, and Sales Manager in India. Can you tell us more about your major products for the automotive market?Today, Axalta is the number one global supplier in the refinish segment supporting body shops and the vehicle repair industry. Axalta is one of the top suppliers to light vehicle OEMs and is the number one global coatings supplier to heavy duty truck and bus manufacturers.Apart from automotive, Axalta also supplies coating solutions to other industry sectors such as industrials. Axalta is the number two supplier in electrical insulation sector, in Industrial E- Coat and is the number two powder provider for industrial customers. All of Axalta’s key brands for the automotive refinish market –Standox, Spies Hecker, Cromax, Challenger, Duxone, and Nason,– have been launched in 18 countries in the MENA region. Axalta is also in the frontline in developing and delivering waterborne or water-based coatings to help customers reduce environmentally harmful substances such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and contribute to a more sustainable environment.In addition, Axalta’s systems employ fast-drying automotive finish, reducing drying times, applying fewer layers of coating, helping customers to be more productive, save money, reduce wastage, while giving them a wide range of colors and enabling them to be more sustainable in the long term.How are Axalta’s products different from those offered by other companies?Axalta carries on its vision in our innovation: to provide high quality, high performance, durable and aesthetically beautiful coatings that are sustainable to use and apply. The global coating market is moving towards increasingly sustainable coating products, like our waterborne liquid products and powder brands. Application technologies are also becoming increasingly sustainable. For OEMs, Axalta’s Eco-Concept, 2-Wet Monocoat and 3-Wet systems reduce plant footprints by eliminating drying ovens and enable curing at lower temperatures which reduces energy use. In body shops, our products like Cromax are productivity focused to move cars through the shop more quickly. OEM designs are also moving towards increasingly sustainable models. We are seeing an increased use of lightweight materials such as aluminum, plastics and carbon fiber which help reduce fuel use and thus reduce CO2 emissions. These novel substrates require Axalta to develop coatings that will adhere and perform and look identical to our products formulated for traditional substrates. That’s just one of the ways we deliver technology and innovation to our customers. Another differentiator is Axalta’s color expertise, including an extensive database of more than 4 million color formulations, which is one of the world’s largest; more than 60 years in producing the Global Automotive Color Popularity Report; and providing color tools (such as Acquire Quantum EFX) and software for precise color matching and color mixing. Axalta is here and ready to help the automotive industry in the Middle East-North African market to embrace a sustainable growth model.
< Page 7 | Page 9 >