BASF Coatings

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” For Tobias Kawohl, that quote is more than inspiration - it’s how he works and lives. After 15 years at BASF, he now leads our Future Workforce Office, where he’s shaping how people and AI agents collaborate. From hybrid team strategies to accessible AI tools, Tobias is helping us evolve how we work, making space for more flexibility, responsiveness, and creative contribution. This spirit of discovery also shapes his personal life. A three-month journey through Asia with his wife and four children became an “outside-in experience” filled with gratitude, challenge, and perspective. Discover how Tobias goes #BeyondTheSurface: 👉 https://lnkd.in/ecPkrMA3

This year’s IAA MOBILITY in Munich once again highlighted how profoundly our industry is transforming – and how #collaboration lies at the heart of it. Our Automotive Color Design team contributed to this transformation on stage and on site: 🎤 Mark Gutjahr, Global Head of Automotive Color Design at BASF Coatings, joined a panel at the Mobility Design Conference by Konzepthaus to discuss with Julie Schwieder from Toyota Motor Corporation, Pierre Maheut from Adobe, Quirin Friedl from NIO, and Laura Burstein how digitalization is reshaping CMF design. From new tools to evolving roles and education, the discussion shed light on both opportunities and challenges for the future. 💻 Relevant to this discussion, we had the pleasure to welcome customers and color design enthusiasts at our booth. The lively exchanges showed once more how powerful tools like #AUROOM are in making color development more efficient – while setting new standards for quality and realism. And yet, one thing was clear across all halls and displays: automotive color and design remains deeply emotional and part of the identity, while digitalization and sustainability are already on the agenda of every major brand. In another panel with Danilo Teobaldi from NIO, Christian Steinmann from ClearMotion and Stefan Bratzel, Prof. Dr., Mark explored how collaboration between legacy companies and startups can accelerate innovation – with all panelists agreeing that flexibility, speed, and trustworthy partnerships are the key to success. Beyond that it was great to see how Munich’s city center transformed into a vibrant place to be for car manufacturers and enthusiasts alike. A true stage of innovation, technology – and emotionally appealing car colors. Our BASF Coatings Automotive OEM Coatings and Automotive Refinish teams were proud to contribute to stunning concept cars and exciting series launches! Follow Mark Gutjahr, Michaela Finkenzeller and Astrid Van der Auwera as they share insights from this year’s event! #BASFCoatings #IAA #AutomotiveIndustry #Innovation #Collaboration #BeyondTheSurface

At BASF Coatings, we always go beyond for efficiency and sustainability with our Oxsilan® technology – our innovative, eco-friendly multi-metal pretreatment process. It is provided via the global surface treatment business unit of BASF Coatings, Chemetall .   The Oxsilan® technology creates a strong bond between the coating and the metal, providing excellent corrosion protection. It's just as effective as much thicker zinc-phosphating layers but much lighter. All while significantly reducing material consumption, pretreatment time, and environmental impact (e.g., 90% reduction in sludge created).   Why this matters? Higher productivity, lower resource use, and reliable coating performance that meets the highest industry standards. Discover how Oxsilan® can make your coating processes more sustainable and efficient: https://lnkd.in/ekeUSaZD #BeyondSustainability #BeyondTheSurface

Exciting News: BASF Coatings and Dr. Katharina Fechtner have been shortlisted for the Future Leader Award at the Global Sustainability Awards 2025! 🏆 Katharina has been a trailblazer in driving sustainability initiatives at BASF Coatings, particularly through our innovative 'Sustainability Future Target Picture' initiative (also see link in comments). This visionary approach not only inspires a hopeful outlook on sustainability but also actively engages our team and partners in shaping a sustainable future. For example, Katharina’s commitment to the circular economy, coupled with her ability to foster strategic partnerships, has opened up new avenues for sustainable growth within our industry. From initiating impactful projects to promoting interdisciplinary collaboration, Katharina exemplifies what it means to lead with purpose and vision. Join us in celebrating our colleague’s achievement and commitment to a sustainable future – and good luck to all shortlisted nominees: Ana Luiza Rodrigues (Scala Data Centers), Katharina Fechtner (BASF Coatings), Mel Bandler (Bath & Body Works), Sripragas Nadaraja (Ramboll), Tomáš Kabeláč (Soulmates Ventures).

🚀 Looking ahead. Celebrating what we’ve achieved – together. We are committed to innovation and customer satisfaction. That's why our solutions and services have helped many companies achieve their goals and set new standards.     Even though we usually look to the future, there must be time and space for a little retrospective. To inspiring stories, experiences and awards in which remarkable successes were achieved through close and trusting cooperation.     We invite you to draw inspiration from our success stories and discover how our products and services help companies realise their vision and excel. Detailed information and more customer success stories from the recent past can be found here: https://lnkd.in/eBzs_Zxk

What will shape the future of mobility design? Find out at this year’s Mobility Design Conference by Konzepthaus in Munich on September 8 - a side event of IAA MOBILITY 2025. Mark Gutjahr, Global Head of Design at BASF Coatings, will join the stage to share insights on tomorrow’s mobility design. But that’s not all: at our booth, Michaela Finkenzeller, Olaf Clausen and Stephan Künster will present AUROOM® – our digital, web-based platform that revolutionizes color development for OEM design teams. By digitizing automotive colors in the highest quality and integrating them into global workflows, AUROOM® speeds up communication, supports better decision-making, and reduces the need for physical samples. Join us on September 8 and visit our booth to experience AUROOM® live. Get your ticket now 👉 https://lnkd.in/dAYrcfxV

Discover what eco-conscious automotive color design can look like ⬇️ At BASF Coatings, sustainability is at the core of how we create color. Our goal is to deliver high-performance, emotionally appealing designs while minimizing environmental impact. This means going beyond industry standards: integrating sustainable raw materials, exploring new technologies, and creating real value for our partners while addressing environmental priorities. Through eco-conscious color and material design, we support broader goals such as circularity, climate change mitigation, water protection, resource efficiency, and health & safety. Curious to see what this means in practice? Our latest ROUTING 2024–2025 color trend collection introduces three innovative automotive colors - developed as prototypes with different sustainability attributes. While not yet ready for series production, they already show meaningful progress in applying sustainable CMF design principles to automotive coatings. Explore the full collection here: https://lnkd.in/dRt_ujEq

Reliable cooperations 🤝 This is what a future oriented automotive industry needs. With Fraunhofer FHR, Dürr and NIO we share exemplary partnerships and projects.  We at BASF Coatings promote collaboration among automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), equipment suppliers and research institutes. The challenges facing the Automotive Industry can only be overcome by increasing efficiency without compromising quality or appearance.    We are working together not only to improve existing processes but also to research and develop disruptive technologies. By collaborating along the automotive value chain, we create efficient surface solutions for the future and write new #SuccessStories. See for yourself how close collaboration is already benefiting our customers and partners today.    ▪️Research Institute: Thomas Bertuch from Fraunhofer FHR about #radar-permeable coatings  ▪️Equipment supplier: Frédéric Charnoz from Dürr about overspray-free, two-tone painting technology (#OFLA)  ▪️Automotive OEM: Svenja Wölk from NIO about color development efficiency increases with #AUROOM #BASFCoatings #BeyondTheSurface #Partnerships #Innovation #ColorDesign

From Boeing to Airbus - our sharkskin technology takes the next step! Lufthansa Technik has begun the certification process of #AeroSHARK, which includes our functional film NovaFlex SharkSkin, to the Airbus A330ceo - marking the first time an Airbus model will benefit from this drag-reducing innovation. Developed within BASF Coatings by our surface treatment experts at Chemetall, the riblet film has already proven its value in more than 232,000 flight hours on other wide-body aircraft - helping to reduce fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions by around 1% during cruise. With roughly 1,000 A330-200 and -300 aircraft in service, the potential impact is significant. Proud to see what’s possible when innovation and partnership go #BeyondTheSurface!

The road to better batteries runs across the surface!   At BASF Coatings, we are shaping the future of batteries and electromobility by creating innovative solutions that truely go beyond the surface. From protecting ultra-thin copper foils to insulating battery packs and preparing structural components for “cell-to-pack” designs, our surface treatment solutions play a crucial role in enabling performance, safety, and durability - and that not only for mobile but also stationary battery applications.   Whether it comes to eco-friendly passivation, high-performance dielectric coatings or advanced pretreatments like, for example, Oxsilan® thin film technology - delivered via Chemetall, the surface treatment division of BASF Coatings - we provide the technologies that power battery innovation across industries.   Explore with us how invisible coating layers make a visible difference on and along the road.    Find more information and contact details here: https://lnkd.in/eri9nYbC   #BASFCoatings #Chemetall #Oxsilan #Electromobility #EVInnovation