Ole Kristian Fureid from Norway is the winner of the international final of the Best Painter Contest of BASF’s automotive refinish brand R-M. Elvis Husic from Slovenia gained second place in front of Steve Poiret from Belgium.    
18 participants, all under the age of 30, from Asia Pacific, Europe and South Africa competed in the international final at the R-M Refinish Competence Center in Clermont de l’Oise, Franceafter having been selected in the national finals. The best automotive refinish painters were elected for the finals globally. “The R-M Best Painter Contest has shown once again that we have the highest profile of automotive refinish painters in our business: young talents all providing excellent results”, declared Harald Pflanzl, Senior Vice President Automotive Refinish Coatings Solutions Europe. “Our declared objective is to provide innovative solutions to make our customers more successful. With the new R-M Refinish Competence Center, we have an excellent location and offer a unique platform for sharing knowledge and know-how with our clients and business partners like 3M, DeVilbiss, EMM, RUPES and SATA.”

The 18 best young painters demonstrated their talent in a wide range of demanding technical skills tests. These included the very latest high efficiency refinish technology, using R-M’s waterborne paint line ONYX HD, as well as application and repair techniques, colour tests, a consultancy task and the correct use of consumables. The “VIP Colour Task” was another challenge. The finalists had to demonstrate their own design paint scheme on a scale model car, employing the latest OEM colour trends. The contest reflects R-M’s reputation as a premium automotive refinish paint brand and its passion for colour and design with experts from vehicle manufacturers and the world of design. Mark Gutjahr, head of Design Europe at BASF judged this additional colour task.

Ronny Raeymaekers, Jury President and Manager of the R-M Refinish Competence Center concluded: “I am very happy about the great success of Ole Kristian Fureid. All finalists have shown strong determination especially as the competition was tough and the conditions unique. The entire R-M and jury team congratulates the winners and their teams.”

The participants were representatives from Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, South Africa, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Also the premium business partners 3M, DeVilbiss, EMM, RUPES and SATA actively supported the contest with key speeches and the celebration of young talents, together with R-M’s regular business partners including Festool, Horn & Bauer, Mettler-Toledo, Norton/StGobain, SIA Abrasives and Teroson.

In the R-M Refinish Competence Center also the new multipurpose D IRECTFILLER B LACK , W HITE and G REY has been presented to the participants and the media. The newly designed Colormaster as well as the new interactive colour application have been exposed. Entirely dedicated to the R-M premium brand image, the event debuted in the R-M CUBE – presenting the spirit of design and automotive colour trends, alongside shapes painted with CARIZZMA by R-M and the Citroën DS3 matt THP 155 SPORT CHIC.