BASF has expanded its partnership with Nissan, now supplying the automaker with coatings and paints for the Pathfinder and Infiniti models at its Smyrna plant in Tennessee.

BASF supplies Nissan with coating solutions from e-coat and basecoat to clearcoat. BASF is also working on more streamlined technologies with Nissan in emerging markets such as China.

“Nissan is a very important customer for us and we have been working closely for a long time,” said Laurent Vaucenat, Global account manager for Nissan at BASF’s Coatings Division. “BASF’s innovative solutions and services, as well as our leading-edge technologies, have convinced Nissan to extend their collaboration with us, especially with our 3 Wet waterborne coating technique.”

The most notable advantage of the 3 Wet waterborne system is the elimination of one drying phase. Previously, car bodies required two 30-minute rounds in the drying oven, after application of the primer, and the basecoat / clearcoat. In the new method, these three layers are applied wet-on-wet, and then subsequently dried. This shortened process leads to shorter production time, less energy consumption, streamlined paint lines and – above all – lower emissions.

BASF is the supplier of “sprayables” (primer, basecoats and clearcoats) for Nissan’s European production sites in Sunderland (England), St. Petersburg (Russia) and Barcelona (Spain).

“We are where our customers are. This is why we are increasingly expanding our presence in growing markets like China, where we currently supply Nissan’s Huadu plant,” says Vaucenat.

BASF also has long-standing supply relationships with Nissan in Japan and India. In 2012, the close partnership resulted in an award from Zhengzhou Nissan Auto Co., Ltd., honoring BASF with the “Excellent R&D Supplier Award” for the excellent quality in the supply of environmentally friendly car paint.