Within three months of its official launch, the eXpand! Red EH 3427 stir-in pigment for automotive coatings from the Colors & Effects^® pigment portfolio has received its first commercial sales order from a major automotive coatings manufacturer.

"This is our fastest introduction of any new pigment in automotive applications and demonstrates that we are well prepared to meet customer demand quickly and successfully," said Paul Verhoeven, eXpand

business leader. "This technology underwent an intensive customer testing phase and we are very glad about the early demand."

The eXpand

Red pigment is the first in the eXpand! line and is the result of the strategic partnership established in 2017 between BASF and Landa Labs. The blue-red shade stir-in pigment is compatible with modern automotive coating systems and offers intense shades, color depth and sparkle thanks to its high transparency, low scattering and tinting strength. It is the first of its kind suitable for outdoor applications and is easily dispersible, cutting the time involved in the production process compared to traditional milling and dispersion methods.

"A very close collaboration between the technical units of the Colors & Effects® team and our customer underscored the innovation and benefits that eXpand

Red offers," said Javier Morcillo Ruiz, technical director of eXpand! at BASF. "We were able to demonstrate its outstanding coloristic properties as well as its efficient stir-in characteristics within a very short timeframe."

Looking ahead, the eXpand

team currently has more than 20 projects running with automotive coatings suppliers globally and is researching and developing more pioneering pigments.

In addition, Morcillo Ruiz will be at the 2018 Pigment Color & Science Forum at the Marriott Copley Place in Boston, Massachusetts, on October 4, presenting "On the Road to New Dimensions in the Golden to Red Color Space" at 3 p.m. during the Advancements in Pigment Technology session.