PPG Aerospace
Menu
Print |

News

Drive Through with Paul Galea - General Manager, Refinish ANZ

PPG continues to focus on automation as a way of supporting shops that have difficulty attracting and keeping skilled staff, not to mention minimising labour cost.


Any talk about automation in body shops is usually met with a shrug of the shoulders and doubts about how it would cope with all the variabilities. Whilst there are challenges, PPG continues to focus on automation as a way of supporting shops that have difficulty attracting and keeping skilled staff, not to mention minimising labour cost. This has led to PPG’s latest innovation in paint dispensing, called Moonwalk™.
 
The benefits are many – simplicity, reduced waste and colour accuracy, just to name a few. Indeed, being so simple to operate makes paint mixing a task that no longer requires specialised skills or the cost of a tradesperson. In fact, it’s questionable if it even needs to be part of the modern-day paint shop at all. After the recent Moonwalk launch in Europe demand has outstripped all expectations. We can expect to see it in action in Australia and New Zealand around early next year.
 
How much thought and effort does the average body shop give to sealants? In fact, this area has become more challenging, with attention to detail needed to meet the ever-increasing expectation of returning vehicles to pre-accident condition, including replicating the OEM look and performance of sealants. However, there is very limited information or support available. PPG’s recent acquisition of SEM Products is about to change that. Late this year a gradual rollout of 1K sealants and specialised nozzles will be followed early next year by more innovative fast cure, 2K products and equipment. SEM Products is about to alter the local sealant marketplace so stay tuned!