Q&A with Axalta’s Harry Christman

Oct. 28, 2014
Harry Christman, marketing manager with Axalta Coating Systems, talks with ABRN about its solventborne basecoat that meets low VOC regulations while providing brilliant color and low cost.
ABRN: Tell us about what Cromax® Mosaic™ offers to paint shops.HC: Cromax® Mosaic™ is a unique basecoat that was designed to help shops meet low VOC regulations with almost no change to their current paint processes and techniques.  Because Mosaic is solventborne, not waterborne, it not only sprays and blends like the solvent basecoats shops are currently using, but it also dries like solvent.  Waterborne typically requires blowers and maybe even added compressors to generate the air movement needed to accelerate drying in humid conditions. That can mean capital investment, new processes, and new painting techniques.  Not so with Mosaic. No major shop investment and minimal training can mean a quick and painless transition to low VOC.

Mosaic was engineered to be fully collision capable and spray well with excellent flake control across a wide range of temperature conditions. Offering a large palate of colors and alternates and designed to provide excellent color match, and supported by a complete fan deck system and Axalta’s leading edge electronic color tools, Mosaic is not a compromise in any way. 

ABRN: How can this product help shops boost efficiency while cutting costs?

HC: First of all, because Cromax Mosaic is solventborne, it’s priced like solvent, which is typically 25 percent less than currently available waterborne alternatives.  Cromax® Pro, our waterborne basecoat, is also priced at a slight premium over solvent, but we designed it to offer coverage and speed advantages to offset the added price. Most “solvent-like” waterbornes, however, require drying between coats and, therefore, offer only low VOC compliance to offset their premium prices. Besides being priced below typical waterborne basecoats, Mosaic is designed to cover in fewer coats and to blend much more easily than National Rule basecoats.  That should translate into less material used, less time waiting in between coats, and less time and effort fussing with difficult blends.  That’s how we believe Mosaic can be both cost effective and efficient. 

ABRN: Shops often rely on their paint vendors for efficiency and shop management training. What are some of the biggest issues Axalta is seeing from its shops?

HC: The key question that a lot of shops may contemplate is “how do I beat my competition and win more business?” At Axalta, we certainly recognize that our growth is tied to our customers’ success, so we have a team of skilled professionals whose sole purpose is to help our body shops improve their operations, grow, and increase their profitability. As you might imagine, there are stages of development in any shop’s journey to “best-in-class”.  The most basic level of training focuses on trying to make sure that shop personnel are very good at what they do…and not just in the paint booth.  We offer training in customer service, estimating, scheduling, and basic shop management to provide a shop the foundation to build upon.  We also focus on helping to streamline operations and improve efficiency using shop data and metrics to drive lean processes. We also share techniques that are geared more towards helping our shops increase market share by understanding the specific KPIs used by each individual insurer, how their shop rates relative to local competition, and how to improve their ranking with their target insurers.  We have received some feedback from shops who have expressed development opportunities in the following areas:

1) Coding.  We advise body shops to employ a process for accurately coding all paint and materials products that they purchase. This process should involve the jobber to ensure that every item they purchase is assigned to the correct expense category, whether paint, allied, shop supplies, equipment, etc.  This should help control expenses.

2) Operational issues can also be of concern.  The paint shop should adhere to a strict process when mixing paint, choosing color, capturing work-performed-not-billed and purchasing materials. There are a variety of processes and best practices that a shop can choose from.  The key is to decide on how the paint department will manage these processes and follow them as a team. 

3) Application can be a concern as well. As shops change technology (solvent to water) or products (new clears or primers), the application of these components can change, too. Painters need to modify their techniques to take complete advantage of the properties that these products/systems offer, such as fewer coats to hiding or direction on how to achieve recommended film build.  The risk can include increased cost and lower productivity. 

ABRN: What kind of training does Axalta offer for shops using Cromax Mosaic?

HC: Mosaic also takes a unique training approach.  We recognize that Mosaic is an appealing alternative to the more traditional shop that may not have capital to invest in major shop upgrades, nor have a lot of time to rework paint shop processes and may have difficulty sending painters away for extensive training.  As you can imagine, when a shop’s painters are unavailable, cars aren’t able to be delivered and shop income may not be generated.  Mosaic was designed to mirror the application and blending techniques of the National Rule solvents that shops spray today.  Because of this, we believe very little training is needed.  And for the little training that is required, we offer on-line, mobile device compatible “E-learning modules” that painters should be able to watch whenever and wherever they want.  We anticipate that shops that switch to Mosaic will require little more than Mosaic E-leaning modules, plus a half day with an Axalta or Cromax jobber technician, to be capable with this basecoat system.

ABRN: What color options does Cromax Mosaic offer?

HC: Brilliant color is another one of Mosaic’s strengths.  New basecoat systems usually start off with a limited palate of colors that may be concerning for early adopters.  We launched Mosaic with formulas covering 10 years of OEM colors and alternates  We continue to work to develop new formulas to match new OEM and custom colors as well as older model year OEM colors.  By the end of this year, we expect to have all OEM colors and variants available going back to 1995.

However, having many formulas is only an advantage if those formulas produce nearly flawless color match.  In developing Mosaic matches, we tightened our testing standards to the point that formulas weren’t accepted until they were practically “panel matches” to the color positions targeted. Color match is one of the attributes that we’re most proud of with Mosaic. 

ABRN: How can a shop get started with the product?

HC: Simple!  Contact your nearest Axalta jobber, your local Axalta rep, or our customer support line at 1-855-6 AXALTA.  If you don’t know where your closest Cromax Jobber is, visit CROMAX.US and use our handy Jobber Locator. Additional information on Cromax Mosaic can also be found on the Mosaic website at AXALTA.US/MOSAIC.

ABRN: SCRS recently released updated clearcoat application recommendations from the paint vendors. What does Axalta suggest for painters?

HC: Like almost every major paint manufacturer who supplied recommendations, Axalta used the SCRS update as an opportunity to reinforce the importance of applying a clearcoat across the entire repair panel rather than attempting to “blend” the clearcoat within the panel. This approach is also consistent with the guidance from OEMs regarding the optimal repair process. Blending can leave a thin clearcoat edge which can be susceptible to weak adhesion and degrading as the area weathers. While we recognize that there may be times that clearcoat blending is used to facilitate reduced repair costs on older vehicles, this practice increases the risk of failure and is, therefore, not acceptable for warranted repairs. 

Harry Christman is a Marketing Manager at Axalta Coating Systems.  He is responsible for the Cromax brand in North America, as well as the Hot Hues line of custom colors and products.  He Joined E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company in 1983 and has held various sales and marketing leadership positions in engineering plastics, corporate consulting, and automotive refinish.  Harry holds a Bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Drexel University and a Master’s in management from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University majoring in both marketing and finance.

Sponsored Recommendations

Best Body Shop and the 360-Degree-Concept

Spanesi ‘360-Degree-Concept’ Enables Kansas Body Shop to Complete High-Quality Repairs

ADAS Applications: What They Are & What They Do

Learn how ADAS utilizes sensors such as radar, sonar, lidar and cameras to perceive the world around the vehicle, and either provide critical information to the driver or take...

Banking on Bigger Profits with a Heavy-Duty Truck Paint Booth

The addition of a heavy-duty paint booth for oversized trucks & vehicles can open the door to new or expanded service opportunities.

Boosting Your Shop's Bottom Line with an Extended Height Paint Booths

Discover how the investment in an extended-height paint booth is a game-changer for most collision shops with this Free Guide.