PPG & Audi – partners in success

PPG’s long-term development programme with Audi was amply showcased at the recent Frankfurt Motor Show where two new colours made their international debut; Inuit weiss Perlmut and Ipanema braun.

The introduction of these two new colours is a vindication of the time and effort the PPG colour teams put into their relationships with major OEM’s like Audi.

Reiner Mueller-Koerber, PPG’s Colour Styling Manager takes up the story “Every year we produce a PPG Global Colour Exhibition for Audi where we showcase a range of colours that we’ve developed based on our research into the latest fashion and lifestyle trends combined with the latest in pigment technology. We then work closely with the Audi design teams to bring the colours to market. It’s a true partnership arrangement”.

And the focus on creating a partnership seems to be paying off. PPG already has an exclusive development agreement with Audi for microtint special pigments. The majority of Audi’s launch colours are from PPG.

But success is not just about getting close to the customer. It’s about getting close to the “right” customer and this is where the PPG and Audi relationship really bears fruit according to Chris van Schagen, Key Account Manager of PPG’s VW Global Group.

“PPG and Audi share very similar philosophies. We both believe in innovation and the need to continually invest in development and we realize that this is best achieved by building strong long term partnerships with businesses we can totally rely on”.

It is this attention to detail that has made PPG the leading supplier of choice for Audi and many other of the world’s OEM’s.

PPG’s deep insight and involvement into future car colour trends brings benefits to its Refinish paint business too. “Bodyshops can have confidence that PPG Refinish Products will have the right pigments formulated into easy to use paint systems before they are required by the market, due to the fact that PPG are already supplying these colours to the motor manufacturers” says Jo Thompson, Colour Marketing Manager for PPG Refinish SBU, Europe..

“This is further proof that our leadership in the supply of OE paint systems really benefits our Refinish customers. Maximising the synergies of these two businesses helps keep our colour offer up to date, ensuring our customers are able to match any car that enters their bodyshop”