Axalta and Ford Jointly Win Jury‘s Award at 2018 SURCAR Shanghai

Axalta and Ford win Jury's Award at 2018 SURCAR Shanghai

SHANGHAI, CHINA – October 15, 2018: At the 2018 SURCAR in Shanghai, Axalta (NYSE: AXTA) and Ford jointly won the SURCAR Technology Achievement Award. Axalta and Ford published a research report entitled "Exterior Multiple Color Coatings for Car Body" at the conference which explained the combination of research and coating technology in digital paint application.

SURCAR is dedicated to car-body finishing for over 60 years and as the world’s leading automotive body finishing congress, it now attracts the most important industry auto body finishing experts and decision-makers. This year’s event focuses on key drivers and innovations in automotive coating technology in the Asia Pacific region.

As the demand for customized and multi-toned vehicles increases, automotive OEMs continue to show interest in digital printing for exterior color coat applications. The Axalta-Ford research report provides the automotive coatings industry with the ability to print various coatings and colors directly on to a vehicle body, which would increase OEMs' accuracy, styling capabilities and effectively help to eliminate the waste that happens with current atomized spray application techniques.

“Digital printing technology can impact the automotive design industry offering benefits such as cost reduction, efficiency improvement and inventory reduction,” said Dr Fucheng Yan, Technology Director, Transportation Coatings of Axalta China, “Two-toned and multi-toned vehicles are challenging to OEMs. Axalta’s Exterior Color Coat for Digital Printing technology helps OEM to increase color accuracy, improve styling capabilities and eliminate the waste from current atomized spray application techniques. In addition, combining Axalta’s high and low temperature coating system, digital color rendering techniques and efficient coatings system, Exterior Color Coats for Digital Printing technology can be cost effective and individualized the coating process for small customers. As a result, automakers can achieve more efficient inventory management.”

Through the innovative digital printing and coating technology, Axalta aims to help OEMs  reduce energy and material consumption to perform precision paint application, enabling  OEMs to better meet customers’ needs during the car-buying process.