- Spies Hecker

colorexpert
P r o d u c t s y s t e m s • C o l o u r s • Tr a i n i n g • M a r k e t i n g
Speed Rod:
A legend comes
to life.
Phoenix:
The mixing room
goes online.
Colour
Development.
How to develop
new colours.
2015
Spies Hecker – simply closer.
2
colorexpert
Editorial
A passion for tradition
and progress.
Joachim Hinz,
Spies Hecker Brand Manager EMEA.
Dear readers,
The long-established refinish profession
is changing, now more than ever before.
Cutting-edge technology is increasingly
making inroads into traditional craftsmanship. Today, many bodyshops already
have a presence on social networking
sites such as Facebook, Twitter or
Instagram. And the latest software assists
bodyshop employees – from planning the
vehicle appointments and digital colour
retrieval, to mixing the right colour.
The Spies Hecker Management Team during
the photo shoot of the Speed Rod.
The new Phoenix colour software.
Product development has also not stood
still. Permasolid® HS Speed Clearcoat
8800, which dries and can be overcoated
quickly, has already become a big hit
with many of our customers. And the new
Spies Hecker high chroma mixing tints
also support refinishers in delivering a
professional repair of the latest OEM
colours.
Compare that with the traditional trade
that is still at the core of our all our
efforts. In order to create the link with
cutting-edge technology, we assist our
customers with targeted training and
support to help ensure their bodyshops
are always up-to-date and ready to meet
market requirements. The two newlyopened Training Centers in Austria and
Switzerland are just one example of our
on-going investment in the future.
Sometimes tradition and progress come
together neatly, and the Speed Rod is a
good example of this. Our cover story
explains how an American classic car
from the Prohibition Era of the 1930s was
given a new lease of life with the Spies
Hecker Permasolid® Speed Clearcoat
8800.
The interplay of tradition and progress,
reflected by the different topics of this
edition of ColorExpert, is critical for the
success of Spies Hecker. Founded more
than 130 years ago, we know where our
roots are, but at the same time we are
also always a step ahead of our time.
We hope you’ll enjoy this issue.
Yours
Joachim Hinz
Spies Hecker Brand Manager EMEA
colorexpert – Tips and information for bodyshops • © Spies Hecker GmbH, Horbeller Str. 17, 50858 Köln, Deutschland • E-Mail: [email protected] • Internet:
www.spieshecker.com • Responsible under the German Press Act: Joachim Hinz • Editors: Christina Schaake, Karsten Jürs, Joachim Hinz • Layout: Adfactory GmbH, Düsseldorf • Text: twinmedia GmbH, Leipzig • Proofreaders: LLINGUA, Gelsenkirchen • Reproduction, even in part, only by permission of the editors. The data and information on the suitability and usage of our
products are not binding and do not release the user from their responsibility to carry out their own tests on their suitability for the intended purposes and processes. The product names mentioned in the articles are predominantly registered trademarks.
Axalta Coating Systems UK Limited • Unit 1, Quadrant Park • Mundells • Welwyn Garden City • Hertfordshire • AL7 1FS
3
Training Center
Expert know-how and creative ideas.
Motivation, creativity and fun: in January 2015, a new Training Center opened in Austria.
Delegates will be able to refresh their knowledge, learn new techniques and have fun
refinishing in these creative surroundings.
This is the premise on which the
new Axalta Refinish Training
Center (RTC) in Oeynhausen/Traiskirchen
in Lower Austria is founded. The RTC is
also very close to the Hot Rod Hangar of
Austria’s renowned airbrush artist, Knud
Tiroch. He has two passions that dovetail
perfectly with the Training Center: cars
and colour. So he was the natural choice
to commission to paint it.
Enjoy refinishing.
The artist didn’t have to be asked twice.
Today, his motor sport depictions and
racing cars adorn the walls, and directions
such as “Mask”, “Sand” and “Polish”, in
the style of old enamel signs, decorate
cupboard doors. What initially only
appears to create a good atmosphere
also provides course participants with
creative inspiration. According to Tiroch,
that was the intention as nobody goes to
the Training Center “just to paint, but
also to enjoy refinishing.” At this new RTC
site in Austria, Spies Hecker runs
foundation seminars, introductory and
advanced courses in panel beating and
design workshops, as well as individual
training and Hi-TEC Special courses.
Spies Hecker covers the range of
requirements refinishers have to fulfil
and, in addition, through one-on-one
and design training gives them the
chance to carry out individual creative
projects.
State of the art process
optimisation.
Campus 105 is the nickname of the new Training Center
in the Swiss region of Pratteln. The training centre was
officially inaugurated on 5 May 2015 to mark the fifth
anniversary of CH Coatings.
“A double spray booth,
hydraulic lifts and Ionitec
drying equipment are among
the many innovative features that are
included as part of the normal facilities
at Campus 105,” says Volker Wistof,
technical manager at CH Coatings, when
talking about the benefits of the new
Training Center.
More space, more
functionality.
With 600m2 effective floor space – that’s
practically double what was available in
the previous Training Center – there is
plenty of space to recreate bodyshop
processes accurately. Selçuk Özgül,
managing director of CH Coatings AG,
explains the relevance to everyday work:
“Here, we can realistically reproduce all
the typical bodyshop work processes.
Thanks to an integrated time-tracking
system and management software we
can use tangible examples to show
course participants how they can do
things better, as well as more simply and
faster. That is why the training courses
and seminars we offer always also focus
on the question of process optimisation.”
Energy efficiency is also a hot topic, not
only because of the catalytic Ionitec
drying equipment, but also, for example,
because of the energy-saving lighting
used. Campus 105 has also been
equipped with a powder coating facility
including curing ovens.
Octopus logo.
Campus 105 – the “105” refers to the
house number of the CH Coatings head
office on Muttenzerstrasse – was given its
own new logo which includes an octopus.
Maya Bitterli, marketing manager at
CH Coatings AG, explains the evocative
choice: “The octopus can spray ink and
change its colour like a chameleon of
the sea. Its very sensitive eight arms
symbolise the different process steps in
the bodyshop.”
4
colorexpert
Speed Rod
Audaciously fast.
The Spirit of the Prohibition era.
The origins of the NASCAR races.
Airbrush artist Knud Tiroch and Spies Hecker have
resurrected a Moonshine Runner as Speed Rod.
It has an aura of speed and adventure.
The large engine block with a whopping
6.6 litres of cubic capacity. The fiery red
colour. The black and white chequered
flag pattern on the driver’s compartment
and on the underside of the engine. The
revived Ford A Roadster from the 1930s
that is experiencing its world premiere
in the Spies Hecker Training Center
immediately radiates the riveting spirit of
its origins.
Prohibition, the drivers used to meet to
race. These stock car races later turned into
today’s famous NASCAR race series.
A legend comes to life.
Wild and dangerous.
Knud Tiroch.
“We discovered the car on an old farm in
the American state of Iowa. Or rather, we
found fragments of it,” says Knud Tiroch.
The Austrian airbrush artist had already
dedicated years to the complete tuning
of muscle cars and hot rods. When he
found an old wooden whiskey crate in the
“I was captivated by the Ford’s history
and decided to resurrect it as the Speed
Rod in memory of its wild and chequered
past,” Tiroch explains with palpable
enthusiasm. His master mechanic and
bodywork expert, Günter “Neibsi”
Neubauer, worked from historic
documents he found on the Internet to
reconstruct the missing frame and trim.
Painting with speed.
driver compartment his investigative
curiosity was piqued. “The Ford was one
of the so-called Moonshine Runners.
That was the name given to the fast cars
that used to smuggle illegal, homedistilled liquor during the Prohibition era,
usually by night.” After the end of the
All the paintwork on the Speed Rod was
carried out by paint specialists Jörg
Sandner, Frank Barduna and David Kukies
at the Spies Hecker Training Center.
“Projects like this only work with people
who can think outside the box and can
offer the best technical solutions in
application,” Tiroch points out. “And
there is this lovely parallel: on one hand
the restored car weighing only 650kg
that, thanks to its 450hp, almost flies
more than it drives; and on the other, the
Spies Hecker Permasolid® HS Speed
Clearcoat 8800 from the Hi-TEC
Performance System range. It has given
our Speed Rod the perfect finish.”
5
Speed Rod
Electrifying fiery red.
Sparky details.
The design of the Speed Rod focused
above all on visually depicting the
concept of speed and on reducing the
car body to the absolute minimum.
“Even if some people think it’s over the
top, I knew right from the start that I
wanted fiery red as the main colour. And
although I see the car every day, I can’t get
enough of looking at it. I keep thinking:
Brilliant! There are no extra parts or
additions to the car that are unnecessary,”
Tiroch emphasises with elation.
A custom-made logo was included in the
paintwork on the sides of the bathtublike driver’s compartment. “The flames
that come out from the engine block are
intended to symbolise the literal sparks
and danger that accompanied racing
pioneers when they sat in the cockpit,”
says Tiroch. The Austrian’s love of detail
inspired him even to search out original
spoke wheels for his Speed Rod. “After
waiting for six months, I finally got them,”
he recalls.
Surprising the world.
Tiroch has a clear message in mind
with this project. “Of course, we are
paying homage to a momentous piece
of automotive history, but it was also
important to me to demonstrate that we
can achieve a tremendous amount with
creativity, technical skill and the right
materials. Is there anything better than
surprising the world a little?!”
And the old wooden whiskey crate?
Those last remains that connect the car
to the adventurous time of Prohibition
have found a permanent place in the
Speed Rod – as the battery compartment.
Further information on the Speed Rod, as
well as a video clip can be found at
www.spieshecker.com/speedrod
Only the best will do.
Body: Ford Roadster, Year of manufacture: 1930, Total weight: 650kg
Engine: 400 cubic inch engine, 6.6 litre engine size, 450hp
Estimate top speed: 200km/h
Tyres: Firestone racing tyres
Paint: Permahyd® Hi-TEC Performance System
6
colorexpert
Speed Rod
“You don’t get to paint
something like this every
day.”
At the Spies Hecker Training Center in Cologne,
Jörg Sandner, from the Spies Hecker Technical Service,
was responsible for painting the Speed Rod. He reports
on his work in this ColorExpert interview.
Jörg Sandner,
Spies Hecker technical service.
What was the main challenge
you faced during the paint
process?
the final coat. The energy-saving drying
process was an added reason for using
this clearcoat.
One of the challenges was to adapt to
the particularities of the car body and to
follow its contours accurately. The difficulty
was caused by the convex shape of the
body. The joins in the body parts had to be
smooth and flat, the clearance between
the parts had to be returned to the
original state of the 1930s. In addition to
the Speed Rod body itself, there were a
large number of individual parts that also
had to be refurbished – from the fuel tank
and the intake manifold, to the suspension
and the headlight housings. All these parts
also had to be fully restored.
What distinguishes the design
of the Speed Rod?
The design is very minimalist. The entire
car is painted with Permahyd® Hi-TEC 480,
RAL 3000 Fiery Red and carries a black
and white chequered flag pattern. These
limited style elements give the car a very
pure appearance and make it look like a
Moonshine Runner from the 1930s.
How long did the paintwork on
the Speed Rod take?
Our Spies Hecker team took about two
weeks to paint the car. Add to that the
work involved in building the body in the
Hot Rod hangar and that adds up to a
total of over 1,400 hours of work. But it
was time well spent – you don’t get to
paint projects like this every day.
Quite fast – the paint build-up of the Speed Rod.
Step 1: best possible corrosion protection on the car body Priomat®
Wash Primer 4075, Permasolid® HS Vario primer surfacer 5340
What did you have to pay
attention to during the
separate process steps?
The guiding principle for the work on the
Speed Rod was to achieve optimal
corrosion protection while obtaining the
best possible quality finish. Nonetheless,
efficient, fast and safe work was still a
priority. That’s why we decided to use the
Permasolid® HS Speed Clear 8800 as
Step 2: Reconstruction of the surfaces
Raderal® IR Premium putty 2035, Raderal® fine putty 0911
Step 3: Corrosion protection for sanded-through areas Permasolid®
HS Vario primer surfacer 5340
Step 4: Levelling of the surfaces, smoothing out irregularities
Raderal® filler 3508
Step 5: Corrosion protection for sanded through areas, isolate,
final finishing touches with Permasolid® HS Vario primer surfacer 5340
Step 6: Refinish Permahyd® Hi-TEC basecoat 480,
Permasolid® HS Speed Clear 8800
7
Product
The sun in your hands.
Whether you are carrying out damage assessment, colour matching with samples or
checking the freshly painted surface for dust inclusions,
having the right light is critical to achieve the best possible
refinish results. That is why Spies Hecker is launching
a new daylight lamp.
Color Spot helps refinishers to find the
exact colour match. The light intensity of
the daylight lamp can be set to three
different levels and so creates the best
pre-conditions for matching even very
light or very dark metallic colours as
accurately as possible.
In addition to providing daylight, it is also
possible to set the lamp to a different light
intensity in order to simplify the selection
of the right colour variant. Energy-saving
LEDs and a long battery life ensure Color
Spot is ready to use all day long.
Permahyd® 280/285:
small but effective.
With immediate effect, Spies Hecker is making mixing tints available in
smaller tin sizes to go even further towards meeting customer needs.
Practical experience has shown that not
all mixing tints are used by bodyshops in
the same quantity or equally often. That
is why 16 Permahyd® 280/285 mixing
tints will now be available in 500ml tins
instead of 1 litre containers. That makes
it even easier for bodyshops to buy only
as much material as they really use.
“In the past we often had to dispose of
mixing tint left-overs once their use-by
date had expired. That meant extra costs
for the business, and an additional load
on the environment,” Alexander Maier
from the Spies Hecker Technical Service
explains.
The smaller tins also ensure greater
efficiency in the depot.
8
colorexpert
Colour Software
The mixing room goes online.
From colour matching to mixing the material, digital colour management has
long been part of everyday reality at Spies Hecker. In this interview, colour specialist
Dietmar Wegener talks about a new web-based software and real-time access
to paint data.
What is the benefit of Internet
access?
Why should
bodyshops link
their mixing
room to the
Internet?
In the not too distant
future, mixing formulas,
Dietmar Wegener,
data and updates will
colour specialist.
increasingly be made
available to bodyshops via the Internet.
We are also developing a new web-based
colour software that requires Internet
connection in the mixing room. That is
why bodyshops should now also take
this part of their business online.
The new web-based Phoenix software in
particular will open up a host of new
possibilities for bodyshops that could
previously only be dreamt of. In future, it
will for instance be possible to access
the Spies Hecker database directly from
the PC in the mixing room. That makes all
the required colour formulas, variants and
application information available online at
any time. Updates will also be uploaded
automatically. And the software can be
used to check paint inventory quickly.
What new functions does the
web-based Phoenix colour
software offer?
The new software can be adapted
according to individual needs. Refinishers
have their own personal access. It can be
used to activate or de-activate preferred
refinish materials, different refinish
quality or product ranges, so this makes
selection much easier and also provides
a better overview.
What are the advantages of the
new Color Cloud?
Refinishers can store their own mixing
formulas online and call them up
anywhere using the “My Color Web” Cloud.
That makes it possible, for example, to
check whether the matching colour
mixing formulas are available at the same
time as the bodyshop is carrying out the
damage assessment. This contributes
9
International
significantly to increasing the speed of
the steps in the repair process.
Will the link to the Internet
also help to optimise internal
bodyshop processes?
That is, in principle, possible. A connection
to the bodyshop network allows
Phoenix colour software
with matching devices.
50 years market
leader in Finland.
Around the world, Spies Hecker relies on strong partners.
The brand has had a particularly long-standing relationship
with its Finnish importer, Colornet, who is celebrating a
big anniversary.
for direct access to the IP scales, for
instance, and it can also be linked to
the inventory. As the mixing formula is
generated, the software will show
whether there is sufficient refinish
material available.
What are the challenges for
bodyshops?
The most important step is really to link
the mixing room to the Internet. There
are two ways of doing this: either by
installing LAN or WiFi connections, or by
accessing the Internet via the electricity
supply (dLAN) using an adapter.
Spies Hecker customer advisers and
technicians will help our customers find
the best solutions.
You can find further information on the
Internet-linked mixing room at
www.spieshecker.com/
coloursearch
Fifty years ago the company
was founded as a family
business with head-office
in Tuusula, Finland. Today,
it is Finnish market leader
in the sale of refinish and
industrial paints. “When
our company was founded,
we were the only ones in the
country to focus on car paints.
Sceptics were convinced that we would
not have much success with such a
niche product, but we have shown
them,” recalls Alvari Glasin, who founded
Colornet together with his brother Pertti.
After just a few years, the brothers were
able to expand the business and signed
a contract in 1968 to become partners of
the Spies Hecker brand.
the first in our industry to
use technicians to help
our customers apply
the products correctly.”
It has always been
Colornet’s aim and its
formula for success to
make
the
refinish
process as easy as
possible and to improve it
continuously.
Spies Hecker would like to wish Colornet
all the best:
Hyvää viisikymmenvuotisvuosijuhlaa!
Supporting refinishers is
the secret to success.
“We always wanted to be pioneers with
our business. We knew as early on as the
1970s that, in addition to paint products,
professional application advice and training
were critical to success,” says Alvari.
He explains, “that is why were are also
Colornet Team.
10
colorexpert
Training
Korea:
plenty of movement in
the refinish market.
Strong growth, a lot of competition: the refinish market in
the Republic of Korea is facing exciting times.
With state-of-the-art technology and a
sophisticated infrastructure, the economy
of the Korean Republic is growing at a
phenomenal rate. The tiger economy is
known particularly for telecommunication
and IT, but also for its automotive
industry. Domestic car brands Hyundai
and Kia dominate the market, but foreign
automotive
manufacturers
are
increasingly gaining market share.
Among the most popular brands in Korea
are Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi and VW.
Continuous increase of
vehicles.
“2014 saw 16.7 million vehicles on the
roads of the country which has 50 million
inhabitants. “Both domestic brands and
foreign car brands population have been
continuously increasing and especially
foreign vehicles have been rapidly increasing
compared to the past years,” says
Na Jung Kim, Korea marketing specialist.
The Koreans’ affinity for cars also affects
the refinish market, which is fiercely
fought-over as there are seven main
refinish brands who supply the country’s
3,500 largely independent bodyshops.
“Spies Hecker has a significant market
share above all when it comes to
refinishing European car brands. It is
important to build on this advantage,”
Na Jung Kim underlines.
Training is in demand.
Training and further training for
professionals is also critical in Korea. In
the seaport of Incheon in the Northwest
of Korea there is a Training Centre that
trains refinishers to the highest
standards. Here, Spies Hecker offers
customers two- to three-day courses
seven times a year.
Enormous potential.
“Spies Hecker was the first to offer
waterborne refinish paints in Korea,”
says Na Jung with pride. It is predicted
that demand for VOC-compliant
products will rise continuously over the
next five years in Korea due to more
stringent legislation and standards.
MyTraining.
Online
training for
refinishers.
The online training programme has
now been incorporated into the seminar
offering in numerous countries. Spies
Hecker employees report on their
experiences.
Daniela Lopreiato, Cavenago
di Brianza, near Milan, Italy:
“MyTraining was introduced in Italian
bodyshops mid-June and has been well
received. The advantage of MyTraining is
that every bodyshop can use it as a
further training tool. All they need is an
Internet connection. Bodyshops have
found the fact that employees can work
their way through the MyTraining
modules while they are in the bodyshop
has greatly facilitated training, because
it reduces downtime and avoids
additional travel costs.”
Jean-Pierre Larché, France:
“MyTraining will soon also be available as
a training tool to bodyshops in France. Its
e-learning concept is based on various
modules that all have to be completed in
order to gain a certificate at the end.
11
Calendar 2016
European Automotive
Championships.
Further training directly in the
bodyshop. With MyTraining,
refinishers can systematically
update or extend their
technical refinish know-how.
Refinishers can work through all the
modules in succession or take a break
and then continue at a later date, starting
at the same place. The users decide on
the speed at which they work. MyTraining
is suitable for all bodyshop employees
who are involved in refinishing. It will be
of particular interest to bodyshops with
many employees as the price includes
up to ten users.”
The European Football Championships take place
in France next year, which is a good enough reason for
Spies Hecker to include football accessories in the
annual Masterpiece calendar.
For 2016, the traditional calendar has
been conceived as a type of European
championship: “Spies Hecker customers
and bodyshops from nine European
countries present their masterpieces –
lovingly restored classic cars that have
been refinished to the highest standards
of craftsmanship,” says Peter Wingen
from the marketing department. Discreetly
placed iconic football images, such as
balls, nets, a corner of pitch or a goal
post, create the visual link to the football
championships in France.
A coup in the Czech
Republic with ŠKODA.
Healey, BMW – and a
helicopter.
In addition, the 2016 calendar once again
contains plenty of gleaming chrome,
highly-polished wheels and glossy paint,
from a British Healey Silverstone that has
found a home in Italy, to a VW Bus T1 from
Denmark and a BMW M235i currently in
Switzerland.
Wingen is particularly proud of the coup
he managed to pull off in cooperation
with the ŠKODA museum in the Czech
town of Mladá Boleslav. Here, he and his
team were able to take an artistic shot of
a ŠKODA 966 Supersport. The car, a type
of East European Formula 1 racer from
1950, is the only remaining specimen of
a model of which only three were ever
built.
The most unusual motif of the calendar
also comes from Switzerland. It is an ultralight, two-seater helicopter type CH-7 that
was photographed in the Massa Valley, in
the Swiss canton of Valais.
The other calendar pages were created
in Denmark, France, Germany, Poland,
Portugal and Spain – a veritable European
automotive championship.
www.spieshecker.com
For more information on MyTraining,
please go to
www.spieshecker.co.uk/mytraining
Eight Training modules
that will turn refinishers
into refinishing experts:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Workplace safety
Surface pre-treatment
Preparing/refinishing plastic parts
Functional materials
Colours and colour management
Refinishing processes
Application errors
Product, colour and training
support
12
colorexpert
Product
International
In the fast lane with Permasolid®
HS Speed Clearcoat 8800.
The new Permasolid® HS Speed Clearcoat 8800 has
been on the market for about a year now and it has been
very well-received by bodyshops. ColorExpert asked
bodyshop owners in Germany and Austria to tell us what
they think of the new product.
Hans Hoffmann,
Berlin, Germany:
“This clearcoat represents a revolution
for the entire refinish process. Even at
ambient temperatures, it dries in such a
short time that is can be used flexibly.
Thanks to the short idle times, we’ve
achieved a markedly higher throughput.”
Josef Niegelhell,
Heiligenkreuz, Austria:
Thomas Weltin,
Konstanz, Germany:
Thomas Tetzner,
Steißlingen, Germany:
“For us, this clearcoat is the perfect
product. It dries extremely quickly and
consumes very little energy while still
producing a very good, uniform coating.
We use it in both our combination spray
booths and that has enabled us to speed
up our work processes.”
“Energy saving is the big advantage of
this clearcoat. The faster drying times are
noticeable in our everyday work, and they
allow us to improve performance and
achieve a higher throughput. Our drying
temperatures have been cut by half.”
“I am really impressed by the easy
application of this new clearcoat. Once
dry, the surface is easy to sand and polish
as long as the user respects the drying
times. I continue to be delighted by the
speed of the drying process.”
13
Product
New hardener for hot, humid climates.
Spies Hecker is assisting users of the Permasolid® HS Speed Clearcoat 8800
with an additional hardener.
The new Permasolid® VHS Speed Hardener 3252 long was
developed for application at very high temperatures. Alongside
the standard Permasolid® VHS Speed Hardener 3250 and the
Permasolid® VHS Speed Hardener 3251 short, refinishers now
have an added option to allow them to adapt the application
of the Permasolid® HS Speed Clearcoat 8800 to climatic
conditions.
Follow work safety tips.
As with all other paint products, it is important to pay attention to the safety
precautions that accompany the Permasolid® HS Speed Clearcoat 8800 and its
associated products.
Spies Hecker recommends that its customers wear the
appropriate safety equipment when using Permasolid® HS
Speed Clearcoat 8800, which consists of:
• Refinish overalls
• Full protective respirator masks
• Safety glasses
• Protective gloves
Spies Hecker helps refinishers to adhere to the safety rules
by providing safety data sheets. These can be downloaded
from
www.spieshecker.com/TDS
14
colorexpert
Colour lab
How is a colour developed?
Glass flakes, high chroma Ruby Red, brilliant Prism Silver - the wealth of variants in car
manufacturing is growing. Spies Hecker responds to the demands of OEM production by
continuously developing new colour and variant formulas in its colour labs.
“In the colour lab, it’s
our job to provide
every refinisher in the
bodyshop with the
right colour needed to
deliver a professional
paint repair,” says Ann
De Clerck, responsible
for colour marketing at
Ann De Clerck,
Axalta. Every month she
colour marketing.
and her team develop
an average 100 new formulas in the lab
in Mechelen, Belgium. In Shanghai, China,
the figure is closer to 500. Additional
Spies Hecker colour labs are in
Tlalnepantla, Mexico, and in Front Royal,
Virginia, USA. And that’s how the refinish
brand manages to produce a total of
25,000 new colour formulas per year.
Colour development follows a standardised
sequence of steps in all locations to
ensure that they always produce the
same colour results.
Essential:
collect information.
Top of the list is the collection of
information. “First of all, it’s very
important to find out which colours will
appear on which car models in the year
ahead. For this reason, we collect the car
manufacturers’ colour ranges,” De Clerck
explains. The team also tries to obtain
the colour standards for each colour
from the relevant car manufacturer.
Car parts as tools.
In order to gain an overview of all the
colour variants, the colour marketing team
also collects car parts. “A vehicle that has
spent several years on the road or colours
that are applied at different OEM
production sites may vary from the official
colour standard. It is important to have
refinish formulas available for these shades
as well. Variant and service formulas are
produced with this end in mind,” she
says. It goes without saying that the colour
team is in close contact with pigment
manufacturers in order to be able
to incorporate current colour trends
immediately. “That allows us to react
to the appearance of new pigments
quickly with a corresponding formula,”
De Clerck says.
15
Colour lab
Checking under different
light conditions.
The type of light that shines onto a vehicle
has a significant effect on the appearance
of the colour. For this reason, the colour
is checked under varying light conditions.
“We use standardised daylight lamps, for
instance, to find out what influence daylight
has on the appearance of the colour.
Submitting a request to
the colour lab.
Once the decision has been made to
develop a new colour formula, the colour
marketing team submits a development
request for a new colour, variant or
service formula to the colour lab. “The
colour is developed using a special,
proprietary software. Colour lab technicians
also use a microscope to identify the
type of effect,” De Clerck explains. The
required colour readings are taken using
a digital spectrophotometer. Based on
the data entered and the readings taken,
example, to ensure that all colour labs
apply the material using the same
process and also replicate bodyshop
conditions in application.”
Should there be deviations due to
metamerism, we can counteract them by
using different pigments,” she adds.
From the lab to the
bodyshop.
When the colour has been approved, it
is confirmed in the software and made
available via the internal colour database.
The new colour formulas finally reach the
refinishers in the bodyshops via the
colour DVD, the colour sample update
or the online database, allowing them to
accurately match each colour.
Comparison and
subsequent corrections.
the software calculates and produces an
initial proposal for the colour formula. This
is then mixed and sprayed by the colour
expert. “We use spray robots, for
Once the paint has dried, the colour is
compared with the standard prototype. If
necessary, the colour expert will carry out
additional corrections with the help of
the software. “By varying the pigments
and adapting the colour volumes, we
eventually arrive at the desired colour
formula,” De Clerck says.
16
colorexpert
Drag Racing
Six seconds to top speed.
From 0 to 236mph in record time:
Top Fuel Bikes belongs to the elite of motor racing.
English race professional Ian King counts on paints
from Spies Hecker for his motorbikes.
They are lightning fast and very powerful:
a Top Fuel Bike’s four cylinder engine
boasts up to 1500HP, almost twice as
much as a Formula One racing car. Even
when they are standing still, their power
is apparent. And once they get moving,
their deafening engine sound cuts
through the tense, focused silence that
has built up before the race, and the
bikes trail metre-long billows of smoke
behind them.
Fifty-three-year-old Ian King is driver
and head of the Gulf Oil Drag Racing
Team, which was founded in 1999. The
Brit has been racing for more than 20
years and was named European Top Fuel
Bike Champion eight times. He is also a
former UK Top Fuel Bike Champion, as
well as an ex-Irish Drag Race Champion.
A deliberate decision to
use Spies Hecker paint.
Building a Top Fuel Bike costs around
125,000Euros. When it comes to painting
them, Ian King relies on Spies Hecker
refinish paints and airbrush artist Knud
Tiroch in his Austrian Hot Rod Hangar.
“The finish of the Top Fuel Bikes has to
survive severe conditions. The paint
should be highly resistant to withstand
the heat, the aggressive fuel and
the mechanical stresses it is exposed
to during a race,” King explains.
Last year was the eighth time that King
won the European Drag Racing
Championships for Top Fuel Bikes and he
wants to break all records again in 2015.
“We have many fans in the USA, in
Australia and in Europe. So we would love
to take part in every championship there
is,” he says.
Explosive propulsion to
accelerate like a shot.
The fuel used for Top Fuel Bikes –
nitromethane – is highly explosive and
ensures that the machines are the fastest
accelerating two-wheelers in the world.
Thanks to this highly-concentrated
power, Top Fuel Bikes reach top speeds
of up to 236mph in less than six seconds,
and hundredths of a second can decide
victory or defeat in a race. In a normal
drag race, two Top Fuel Bikes compete
over a distance of a quarter or an eighth
of a mile. During the acceleration, the
driver is exposed to greater forces than
an astronaut during a rocket launch.
“Controlling these tremendous forces
requires a good deal of experience and
courage,” adds King.
Ian King,
Gulf Oil Drag Racing Team.
Only very few drivers are suited to racing
these machines, but one thing is certain:
they need to be adrenaline junkies.
17
Product
A long tradition of
speed.
Drag Racing has its beginnings in the
1920s in the USA, when teenagers
held Hot Rod car races, initially on
towns’ main streets, known as drags,
and later on remote airfields. Over
time, these races were carried out
with motorbikes too. In the 1950s, the
National Hot Rod Association was
founded and it established safety
rules. Since then, the races, which
were first carried out with road-legal
cars and motorbikes, have evolved to
become a motor racing sport for
highly-technical vehicles of different
categories. Top Fuel Bikes, like Top
Fuel Cars, are now part of the elite of
drag racing.
For more information on drag racing
and on Ian King, visit
Two mixing tints for
shining results.
The variety of OEM colours seems inexhaustible.
The reds in particular – among popular special automotive
colours – show a breathtakingly rich intensity of colour.
Spies Hecker offers two new mixing tints to refinish these
concentrated colours.
www.kingracing.com
Technical details for Ian
King’s Top Fuel Bike:
Performance:
• An estimated 1,500 hp
• 1/8 mile in 3.835 seconds
(204mph)
• 1/4 mile in 5.878 seconds
(236mph)
Engine:
• Puma Cases
• 1,585 m³ engine size
• Nitromethane as fuel
Additional accessories:
• HPS 2.1 RC supercharger
• Multi-level MTC clutch
• NCTE torque measurements
• Goodridge Hydraulic Management
Chassis:
• Removable trim
• 5 gallon ProAlloy engine fuel/oil
tank
• Aluminium body
• Hyperpro-Suzuki-GSXR-1000
forks and dampers
“Repairing cars with these colours can
take all the know-how refinishers possess,
so we have to supply them with the right
material,” says Dietmar Wegener, Colour
Management Specialist. That is why
Spies Hecker has launched the Ruby
Red and Bright Orange mixing tints
as part of its Permahyd® 280/285 and
Permahyd® Hi-TEC 480 ranges. Both
mixing tints are notable for their
outstanding chromaticity, which signals
the depth of colour and its brilliance.
Ruby Red –
particularly intense.
“The Ruby Red mixing tint is a bluish,
very intense red,” Wegener says when
describing the colour. The new mixing
tint is available as Permahyd® Hi-TEC
WT311 Ruby Red and as Permahyd®
Mixing Tint 280 under code WB 804 Ruby
Red. This mixing tint is already part of
over 40 mixing formulas and is suitable
for use in solid and effect colours, such
as Volkswagen’s Fortanared and Ford
Europe’s Red Rush.
Bright Orange –
incredibly visible.
“Mixing Tint WT 308 Bright Orange
contains a high-performance orange
pigment,” Wegener continues. “This
mixing tint can be found in some new
OEM colour formulas, including the
Sakhir Orange colour tone by BMW, and
the Imperial Orange used by Nissan.”
The new mixing tint closes an important
gap on the colour spectrum as far as the
development of orange and red hues is
concerned. And it is suitable for use in
solid and effect paints.
Both mixing tints
are available in
500ml tins.
18
colorexpert
MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS
Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton.
MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS
Formula OneTM Team races with
Spies Hecker.
When the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS
Formula OneTM Team won the 2014 FIA
Formula One World Constructors’
Championship®, it did so with Spies
Hecker paint on its cars. The team is
continuing the successful partnership and
renewed its agreement with Spies Hecker
for another two years in time for the start
of the 2015 season.
Speed on and off the
track.
When the 2015 race car, the MercedesBenz F1 W06 Hybrid, was unveiled on 1
February 2015, it showed off its brilliant,
aluminium-effect silver created by Spies
Hecker especially for the team.
“Spies Hecker has given us the solution
we needed – from the Permahyd® Hi-TEC
system and experienced technicians, to
practical, easy-to-use systems and
first-class, efficient colour matching. It
made complete sense to continue our
partnership,” says Andrew Moody, Head
of Paint and Graphics at MERCEDES AMG
PETRONAS Formula OneTM Team. “Speed
and efficiency are of the utmost
importance in our profession, on and off
the track. Thanks to Spies Hecker and to
fast re-sprays, we get the cars back on
track as quickly as possible.”
Paint for the whole fleet.
And Spies Hecker paints aren’t just
keeping the race cars looking good. The
entire fleet of Mercedes-Benz Actros
trucks used to transport the team to the
Grand Prix venues as well as the team’s
garage equipment and hospitality systems
are all coated with Spies Hecker paint.
Anthony Cashel, Marketing Manager for
Axalta Coating Systems in the UK and
Ireland, explains: “This will be the third
year in which we supply the MERCEDES
AMG PETRONAS Formula OneTM Team
with Spies Hecker products. It’s clear the
team values our close working relationship
as well as the resilience, speed
and reliability of our innovative paint
technology.”
19
Software
Keeping the computers
running…
How can hardware and software in the bodyshop
help to optimise processes?
Slow hardware, old software, or control
and entry errors can all cost time and
money. Anyone who really wants to
optimise processes should consider
expenditure on bodyshop technology as
an investment that will
quickly pay off.
Be open to that, but stay focused. As a
general rule, your IT provider should
offer you the option to test new software
for a limited period of time so you can
see whether it will benefit your business.
Up-to-date
equipment?
IT equipment that is more
than five years old often
gets in the way of fast
processes. Make sure your
management
software
system is operating at its
best by using up-to-date
hardware. And the hardware
interface with the user,
such as screen, keyboard
and mouse, also supports
efficient work, so, select a
suitable monitor size as
well as a good, functional
mouse and keyboard.
Rules for
increased security.
Put in place for your team simple, easyto-understand but binding rules for the
use of software. If every available piece
of software is randomly installed on PCs
its functional speed will rapidly go to
pieces. Private use should only ever take
place in accordance with written rules.
Emphasise that private correspondence
should not go through business email
addresses, and ensure that business
emails that come in during an
employee’s absence can be handled by
a colleague.
Test and use innovation.
Particularly in IT there are always new
innovations that required a rethink or a
restructuring of internal processes.
Practice makes perfect.
The professional, well-practised use of
your management software, or other
software, can save a tremendous
amount of time. Incorrect entries related
to damage assessments and estimates
can have irritating consequences that
can often only be corrected with a good
deal of time and effort. Make the most
of training offers from your software
supplier and ensure that your entire team
is up to speed on the chosen software.
That will also leave your customers with
an impression of competence.
20
colorexpert
ColorDialog
Two decades of colour measurement
at the push of a button.
Twenty years ago Spies Hecker offered bodyshops its first colour spectrophotometer
with colour-matching formulas for refinish work.
“From the first spectrophotometer, our
focus was on simplifying and speeding
up the search for formulas with a view to
improving bodyshop efficiency,” says
Dietmar Wegener, Spies Hecker Color
Management Specialist. “Another critical
advantage of using spectrophotometers
– even 20 years ago – was their great
reliability. The first generation Spies
Hecker ColorDialog spectrophotometer
allowed bodyshops to use the most
up-to-date technology and gave them a
cutting-edge piece of equipment.”
To date, around 5,000 Spies Hecker
ColorDialog spectrophotometers are in
use throughout EMEA and the figure for
Spies Hecker in Germany alone is over
1,400 devices. The most recent
generation device is now able to read
paint effects using photo optics and
can also be connected to Phoenix our
web-based formula software.
Delta-Scan.
ColorDialog MA 90BR was therefore
introduced in 2003. “When connected
with the matching software, it already
offered refinishers of the time the option
of auto-matically correcting colour
formulas,” Wegener recalls.
Networked in the mixing
room.
The constantly growing numbers of
variants and effect colours demanded
further device developments. In 2005,
Spies Hecker launched the ColorDialog
spectrophotometer, which was equipped
with the latest LED optical technology.
This spectrophotometer could be
connected to the Spies Hecker CRplus
formula software.
ColorDialog from 1998.
From five- to three-angle
readings.
For Spies Hecker customers, the
spectrophotometer era began in 1995
with the ColorDialog MA 64. This was a
five-angle measuring device that worked
in conjunction with special Color Unix
software. Over time, it however became
apparent that only three readings were
required to determine any given colour.
The three-angle spectrophotometer
ColorDialog spectrophotometer.
The brand’s very latest colour
spectrophotometer, ColorDialog DeltaScan, has been available since 2013.
It measures colours and effects using
innovative photo optics in a single work
step. Using Phoenix, the readings can be
quickly matched to the corresponding
formulas. “The touch screen makes
ColorDialog Delta-Scan even more
user-friendly than its predecessors,”
Wegener explains. Once readings have been
taken, the mixing formula is calculated on
the computer using, for example, the PC
desktop system ColorTint HD. Refinishers
can then transfer the formula to the digital
scales to mix the colour. Wegener concludes:
“More precise, faster colour measurements
and greater connection to the mixing
room: twenty years ago, Spies Hecker
paved the way for advanced colour
management with ColorDialog. Today, we
continue to drive the development of
these support tools.”
The history of
Spies Hecker
spectrophotometers.
1995: Launch of the Five-angled
spectrophotometer
ColorDialog MA 64
1998: Launch of ColorDialog MA 64
using Windows
2003: Introduction of the Threeangled spectrophotometer
ColorDialog MA 90BR
2005: Switch to the three-angled
spectrophotometer ColorDialog with CRplus software
2013: Launch of colour spectrophotometer ColorDialog
Delta-Scan with effect
readings
Additional information on
spectrophotometers can be found at:
www.spieshecker.com/colour-tools
21
International
Spies Hecker seals the deal on the cooperation with its first importer in Angola. From left to right Gavin Swanepoel (Sales Manager,
Sub Saharan Africa), Johannes Fischermann (Marketing and Planning Manager TMEA Refinish), Joachim Hinz (Spies Hecker
Brand Manager EMEA), Renato Semedo (Managing Director Padangola), Otmar Hauck (Chief Operating Officer EMEA).
Angola’s economy is booming –
and Spies Hecker is getting
involved.
Africa can often be an underestimated continent. But the economies of
some countries in this part of the world are booming. And Spies Hecker is
right in the thick of it. The brand’s refinish products have been in use in the most northerly
and most southerly areas of Africa for quite a while, and from early 2015 in Angola too.
Padangola is the name of the new importer
based in the capital city Luanda directly
on the Atlantic coast of this west African
country. For approximately ten years,
Angola has been experiencing strong
economic growth due to its wealth in
natural mineral deposits, including oil.
This makes Angola one of the fastest
growing economies in the world
alongside Nigeria, Mozambique and
Ghana. Investment has poured into the
country’s infrastructure, which is one of
the reasons why the vehicle market in
Angola has also witnessed a tremendous
expansion. Up to 90 per cent of all the
vehicles on the country’s roads are Asian
brands: Hyundai, Toyota and Kia are the
most frequently seen cars. “Influenced
by OEMs, some Angolan bodyshops
already use waterborne basecoats as
well as modern technical equipment,”
says Johannes Fischermann, Marketing
and Planning Manager Turkey, Middle
East and Africa Refinish.
Diverse refinish market.
The refinish market in Angola is extremely
varied. “From simple painting areas out in
the open to ultra-modern bodyshops of
the highest European standards, you will
find everything,” Fischermann explains.
But only very few bodyshops actually
have their own mixing room.
Potential for growth.
Instead, most bodyshops source their paint
material ready-mixed from companies
such as Padangola, which is jointly run by
three partners – Jo Brito, Bruno Semedo
and Renato Semedo. It currently supplies
12 bodyshops with Spies Hecker
products. Many of the customers come to
the importer with sample panels, but
some also with specific colour formulas.
“Padangola may only be a small importer,
but right from the start it has run its
business in a very professional manner,”
Padangola – the new Spies Hecker importer
in Angola.
says Fischermann. The Spies Hecker
team is looking forward to working with
the company in a country that is set to
offer increasing potential in the refinish
market.
22
colorexpert
International
Gloss for a tiger
of the skies.
The fighter plane Type F-5 Freedom Fighter is a piece
of aeronautic history. Since May 2015, it can be admired on
display in the Norwegian Air Defence Museum at Gardermoen Airport
in Oslo, Norway. The plane has been fully restored and intricately
painted by a team of specialists.
Spies Hecker is one of the sponsors of the
museum’s Gate Guardian Project. The
dual-trace fighter plane from the F-5B
production series was in service with
the Norwegian Air Defence between
June 1966 and May 1994, before being
acquired by the museum in Oslo in 2000.
Friends of the museum
lend a helping hand.
The preparatory sandblasting, sanding
and primer work, using the Permafleet®
Primer Surfacer 4017, was carried out by
representatives of the association of friends
of the museum
under supervision
by Spies Hecker.
However, the actual
paintwork
was
completely
by
Spies
Hecker
specialists. Led by
Alsaker and head
of design, Terje
Johansen, a team
of six was allowed
to use the highly
restricted
and
closely-guarded
hangar of the
Norwegian
Air
Defence.
The design is a special
gesture to the Pilot Club.
Working under close
guard.
After a complete restoration that took
several years, the final paintwork was
carried out by a team from Spies Hecker
last winter. “As a special gesture to
NATO’s Tiger Club of pilots, and in order
to create a real visual delight for visitors,
we painted the F-5 with a tiger-stripe
design,” says Spies Hecker project
manager Torbjørn Alsaker.
“The strict security controls were a little
unusual for us, but we were still able to
keep to our time plan exactly, which was
four days for the paintwork,” says Alsaker.
After the preparatory sanding, cleaning
and masking, the team first applied the
Permasolid® HS Wet on Wet Filler 5330 in
order to ensure a completely smooth
substrate without imperfections.
Proud of the result.
“Afterwards, we applied Permahyd®
Hi-TEC 480 as a basecoat in grey, yellow and
black,” he says. The Permafleet® HS 8007
was used as a clearcoat with the addition
of the matt component Permasolid®
MA 110. “That gave us the best possible,
homogenous matting effect. The team
really did fantastic work! The museum
management was also very happy and
proud to be able to have such a goodlooking exhibit,” Alsaker concludes.
The Gate Guardian Project team.
23
Social media
Social media:
hype or opportunity?
Ninety-one per cent of all Internet users are active
on social media. But how can social media benefit
bodyshops?
“Social media is more than just
Facebook,” says Monica Fehn of Spies
Hecker’s Digital Marketing department.
“Google+, YouTube and, of
course, Twitter are
also
channels
which bodyshops
can use to their
advantage.”
However, their use
will only be successful if they are regularly
fed with new information. “If you can’t do
that, then don’t bother,” Fehn advises.
Vitally important:
avoid pretence.
In addition to keeping a social media
presence up to date, the way in which
you treat followers is also critical. Listen
to your target audience and understand
what interests them and that will make
successful social media activity much
easier. It may be helpful to visit topically
related forums and pages with a similar
content before starting your own, too.
But, however much you prepare, the
same rules apply to social networks as to
real life: be authentic. Only if a business
or brand is honest in its dealings with
online followers will it reach its goals.
This also applies to all other activities.
The transparency and reliability of the
information provided are the be-all and
end-all. It goes without saying that polite
behaviour is a prerequisite for a good
relationship between any business and
its target group. If you take that a step
further, that also includes timely contact
with followers. If you only reply to a query
after a long period of time you might as
well forget it. The Internet is fast – and
that is reflected by the expectations of
those who use it.
Strategy or gut feeling.
“The use of social media requires you
to highlight your strengths and
competencies,” Fehn says. “To be
successful, you need a strategy that
combines communication channels and
media.” Social media can, for example,
be used to kick off a campaign relating
to a specific offer or service that is
simultaneously promoted via regional
print and broadcast media. This
segmentation will allow bodyshop
owners to potentially reach new
customers, but may also offer them the
opportunity to reconnect with existing
customers. And, it can also boost the
trust of the customer base and reinforce
in them their feeling that they have
chosen the right bodyshop.
Social media as a
customer service tool.
While the use of emails has pervaded all
areas of life, the trend to get in touch with
businesses via their Facebook pages
is growing. Those who react quickly –
maybe even in real time – to those points
of contact are well set up. The consistent
application of this communication
strategy can allow bodyshops to set
themselves apart from their competitors.
Completely in sync
– if all products harmonise.
Harmony is the result of perfect interplay. That’s why Spies Hecker not only offers good paint
products, but also ensures the best possible interactions between filler, basecoat and clearcoat.
The Hi-TEC Performance System will help you hit the right note.
Spies Hecker – simply closer.
An Axalta Coating Systems Brand