BASF Coatings and Ford develop attention-grabber: "Electric Orange" electrifies manufacturers and customers

04/13/06, Münster/Cologne. Channel surfers can barely miss an automotive attention-grabber that’s commanding the airwaves in Europe these days. The Ford Focus ST, at 225 horsepower, is whizzing across TV screens in a coat of blazing orange. During the paint development process, Ford and BASF Coatings worked together closely, mastered challenges, and created a hot splash of color on the roads.

The Focus ST is Ford’s top model in the Focus series. In order to meet the carmaker’s high standards, the exclusiveness of the sports car needed to be expressed by a unique appearance in addition to its excellent engine performance. To make sure it would turn heads on the road, BASF Coatings’ paint specialists developed the color “Electric Orange” in cooperation and close coordination with Ford.

“We were looking for a paint that would attract a great deal of attention and had a high recognition factor,” says Bernd Meier, describing the carmaker’s specifications. Since orange as a solid-color paint has low hiding power and looks “dirty” fairly quickly, BASF Coatings developed a complex finishing process in its labs that guarantees that the color will stay brilliant for a long time. Compared to conventional paint application, during the application of Electric Orange Metallic, an additional layer of special-effect paint is applied to the basecoat, which gives the orange its characteristic brilliance and preserves it.

It’s a partnership that pays off for Ford and makes its end customers successful. The response has been positive. Orders for the orange Ford Focus ST have outpaced the carmaker’s expectations. In the plant paint shop, the “Electric Orange Color System”, a special finishing process, has been developed for the brilliant color.

BASF : A major international player in coatings

BASF Coatings AG belongs to the global Coatings Division of the BASF Group. In 2005 the Coatings Division achieved world sales of about 2.2 billion euros. The Coatings Division develops, produces and markets a high-quality range of innovative automotive OEM coatings, automotive refinishes and industrial coatings as well as decorative paints, and also the processes needed to apply them. In this business, eco-efficient water-based, powder and high-solids coatings as well as radiation-curable systems play a special part. In Brazil, the company has been successful in the decorative paints market for years and holds the leading position. BASF has a major, global presence in the Coatings sector, with significant market positions in Europe, North America, South America and the Asia/Pacific region, for example with affiliates in Australia, China, India, Japan, and the Philippines. The internet address of BASF Coatings is www.basf-coatings.com.

Contact Information

Dr. Michael Golek

BASF Group

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