BASF celebrated the official opening of its Refinish Competence Centre at Marchamalo, Guadalajara, Spain. The training centre is dedicated to teaching collision repair shop technicians, distributors and large automotive companies in Spain and Portugal about its premium brands Glasurit and R-M. In addition, it hosts numerous events intended to promote the training of young future professionals, through initiatives such as the R-M Best Painter Contest or Castilla-La Mancha Skills, as well as training vocational teachers through the FORTECO program.
Originally built in 1983 the Marchamalo centre has invested around €2.5 million renovating the facility so as to offer the best possible technological experience. The fundamental reason for the modernisation was BASF’s innovative spirit as well as its commitment to its customers. With a clear focus on sustainability and environmental protection, BASF has installed equipment with maximum energy efficiency and minimum emissions.
Patricia Franco Jiménez, Regional Minister of Economy, Enterprise and Employment for Castilla-La Mancha, and Rafael Esteban Santamaría, the mayor of Marchamalo, joined other official representatives at the inauguration. The company was represented by Katja Scharpwinkel, Senior Vice President Automotive Refinish Coatings EMEA, Carles Navarro Vigo, Managing Director Country Cluster Head Iberia, Christian Schneider, Site Manager Marchamalo / Director of Operations, and Ramón Farré Gaudier, Regional Business Manager Automotive Refinish Coatings Iberia.
The BASF production centre in Marchamalo is the headquarters of the Coatings division in Spain and the plant has been used by BASF as a production centre since 1982, although the company origins date back to 1867.
Covering an area of 310,000 m2 the centre employs around 650 staff and encompasses two paint factories, a plant for intermediate resins and a large-scale production unit. Apart from the renovated training centre, the site includes an automotive application centre as well as quality control and development laboratories for all its main product segments.
This article courtesy of Russell Thrall III, publisher CollisionWeek. Check out their website at: www.collisionweek.com.