Vietnam, one of the thriving and emerging economies in ASEAN, is enjoying a boom in car sales and production in recent years. The demand for Automotive Refinish products and services is increasing. R-M®, as the premium automotive refinish paint brand, offers not only innovative products and technologies solutions, but also professional training to customers and is therefore perfectly suited to meet the demands of this market.

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - August 18, 2015 - MT Paint Chemical Production and Trading Co., Ltd., BASF's exclusive importer for R-M products, has opened its second Refinish Competence Center (RCC) in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. This new training facility, with a total area of 800 square meters, is double the size of the first RCC in Hanoi and further strengthens R-M's position as a leader in the automotive aftermarket in Vietnam.

"We are excited to open the second Refinish Competence Center in Ho Chi Minh to meet the growing training demands and technical expertise required by our OEM customers," said Chris Titmarsh, Vice President, Automotive Refinish Coatings Solutions, BASF. "The growth of the automotive market in Vietnam has been robust in the past few years. This new center in Ho Chi Minh City further enhances our global network of training centers in the region and shows our commitment to investing in local markets to support our partners. It not only provides education and training, but also creates a local platform for promoting industry standards."

At the RCCs, a significant number of trainees and business partners who want to enhance their skills as refinish spray paint professionals can be trained. The new Center consists of a color mixing room, spray booth, preparation area, classrooms and other advanced equipment from several International brands. The training programs will be focused on environmentally friendly waterborne paints and will include courses on application techniques, color matching, and the optimal use of paints to reduce waste and processing time.

"We established our first RCC in Hanoi back in 2012 with an aim to enhance our bodyshop customers and business partners' skills as spray paint professionals using R-M paints. With the increasing customer demand in southern Vietnam and the huge market potential of Ho Chi Minh City, we see the need to build another center here," said Mr. Nguyen Xuan Manh, Director of MT Paint Chemical Production and Trading Co., Ltd., R-M's importer for Vietnam since 2008. "These two RCCs show our strong commitment to enhance the productivity of bodyshops and to increase their efficiency and competitiveness. We believe that our customers, as well as the car owners, can benefit from R-M's premium offerings, both product-wise and service-wise."

BASF has established more than 70 RCCs around the world and more than 20 RCCs in Asia Pacific, serving the automotive refinish coatings industry and attracting the best young talents into the collision repair business. Last year, around 20,000 professionals were trained worldwide and over 3,500 in Asia Pacific.

R-M Homepage: www.rmpaint.com

R-M Automotive Refinish Paints: an important part of BASF Coatings
Under the R-M brand, BASF markets a comprehensive range of automotive refinishing paint systems, focusing on eco-efficient waterborne basecoats and high-solids paints. By using these systems all legal solvent-reduction requirements can be complied with anywhere in the world, and with regard to appearance and resistance, the products meet the same quality standards as solvent-borne paints. In this area, the company offers a wide variety of services to support its customers. R-M Automotive Refinish Paints is approved by most of the leading car manufacturers for aftermarket repair and chosen by the world's most prestigious car companies for its color expertise.

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