Axalta Coating Systems and the China National Heavy Duty Truck Group Co Ltd. (CNHTC), a leading heavy-duty truck manufacturer, have partnered to demonstrate high performance trucks painted with Axalta’s Imron Elite environmentally responsible coating solutions at the Shanghai Auto Show. Three CNHTC heavy-duty trucks coated with Imron Elite are on display at CNHTC’s booth at the show, held from April 20th to 28th.

Recently introduced in China to meet the needs of the country’s expanding production of heavy duty trucks, Axalta’s Imron Elite high solids solventborne coating is a simple but versatile system for high-performance, high-quality and durable commercial finishing. Using high solids 2K polyurethane technology, Imron Elite provides a premium quality finish with superior durability and high chemical resistance, with more than 18,000 color formulas for customers to choose from. Imron Elite is engineered to be environmentally responsible and support a more sustainable coating process. The higher ratio of solids to solvents in the formulation results in reduced emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC), making Imron Elite compliant with VOC regulations in China and a number of other markets.

“Axalta and CNHTC have a partnership of more than ten years, and we’re excited with this opportunity to apply the advanced coating technology behind Imron Elite on its trucks to showcase its high finishing quality,” said Luke Lu, Vice President of Axalta and President of its business in China. “Axalta’s Imron coating systems are well established and found on more than three million vehicles around the world. We are very excited that our customers in China can now also enjoy the high-performance, quality finish provided by Imron Elite.”

Founded in 1956 as the Jinan Auto Works Plant, today the CNHTC group is not only one of China’s largest heavy truck manufacturers but also a big exporter of trucks to global markets, including those in Asia and Central America.

“CNHTC is continuously seeking new coating solutions to improve performance that meet rigorous national and regional environmental regulations as well as our own demands to continually improve our productivity,” said the Head of the Technical Center from CNHTC. “As one of our long-term suppliers and partners, we look to Axalta to help us achieve a coating finishing performance that meets our high standards which our customers, in turn, expect of us. As a leading heavy-duty truck manufacturer and exporter, it is our responsibility to help our customers, and our company, to meet the national sustainable commercial and environmental goals wherever we do business. We know Axalta shares this goal with us.”

Axalta has been doing business in China since 1984. This wealth of institutional knowledge has helped Axalta maintain its leadership role for developing cutting edge coating products. In addition to the recently-opened Jiading waterborne coatings facility, Axalta operates an adjacent plant in Jiading, a plant in Changchun, six powder coating operations in collaboration with a joint venture partner, four refinish training centers and a Global Color Lab and Asia Pacific Innovation Center to support R&D. The Company’s Asia Pacific regional headquarters is located in Shanghai. Axalta’s multiple resources in China work together to support the sustained, long-term growth of China’s automotive, commercial vehicle and industrial sectors.

CNHTC’s booth is No. 3A14 in Exhibition Hall 3H at the Shanghai Auto show.