SOUTHFIELD, MI, August 10, 1998 -- Addressing the industry's growing demand for increased productivity and sophistication on the part of painters, shops, and jobbers, BASF Automotive Refinish has completely remodeled its training system. The new system is designed to be more interactive, to assure consistent instruction across the NAFTA region, and to maximize learning through required performance-based student exams.

The new system is now in place for BASF training on the Glasurit® and R-M® brands, as well as for training on productivity, business management, and personnel development relating to the refinish industry in general.

In developing its new approach, BASF enlisted the help of training specialists at the University of Wisconsin, who worked with BASF Training Development Teams to craft the new curriculum and lesson plans. As each class was created, it was submitted to BASF lab personnel to approve technical accuracy. Frequent "train-the-trainer" sessions helped standardize the approach of BASF instructors across the NAFTA region while also honing their skills.

"The result is an integrated system of classes that is more interactive and informative than ever before," says James K. Warren, manager of training for BASF Automotive Refinish. "With students' progress being tested along the way and additional instruction being provided as needed, graduates of the BASF classes are among the most well-trained refinish professionals in the world. This benefits the individual's skills while also adding significant improvements in productivity and customer satisfaction for the studentžs collision repair facility," Warren explains.

"Our intent is to assure consistency in the transfer of knowledge, delivery of training, and mastery of the material through a designed development approach," Warren says. "The equation begins with program design, continues through improved training of the trainers, and extends to enhanced training methods. Finally," Warren adds, "the performance-based exams of the students allow us to monitor their progress, to give additional training as required, and also to monitor the effectiveness of our own training material and techniques."

One initiative that has resulted from the new approach is the innovative Glasurit Passport Training Program for Glasurit refinish painters and jobber personnel. The Passport Program is a structured, multi-course system of classes geared toward a complete education. Enrollees receive an actual Passport booklet, which is stamped each time a course is completed; the fully stamped booklet can then be redeemed for a travel incentive award.

Completion of the Passport program requires 11 total days of training for refinish technicians (or 10 days for distributor personnel) within a three-year period, thereby guaranteeing painter re-certification for Glasurit's Lifetime Warranty program. Graduation qualifies the participant as a Master Certified Glasurit Technician.

"A program this comprehensive is a first not only for BASF," Warren notes, "but, we believe, for the entire refinish industry."

BASF has also focused on expanding its arsenal of training delivery methods and locations. At the center of BASF training is the North American Application & Training Center in Whitehouse, Ohio, with its elaborate body shop and computer-equipped classrooms. From this hub, a network of nine dedicated Regional Training Centers with complete body shop equipment and classrooms spans the NAFTA region with locations in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. New Regional Training Centers in Toronto and Puerto Rico are slated to open in 1999. To extend its training capabilities even further, BASF has added innovative outreach programs such as a Mobile Training Van that serves western Canada, local training courses operated through ColorSource jobbers, and field training programs conducted by BASF Regional Training Instructors.

Another development has been the expansion of the BASF VisionPLUS program, which offers an extensive roster of business training and education programs including Clear Thinking Conferences and the Professional Business Management series of seminars. Adding another level of training beyond technical refinish instruction, VisionPLUS offerings are geared to help both shop and jobber management personnel to achieve increased productivity and profitability.

Automotive refinish technicians, shop owners and managers, or distributors who want to participate in BASF training programs can obtain enrollment information through their local BASF representative, a BASF Regional Training Instructor, a sponsoring BASF Distributor, or by calling the BASF Training Enrollment Center toll-free at 1-(800)-532-7782.

BASF Corporation Group, headquartered in Mount Olive, N.J., is the NAFTA region member of the BASF Group (Ludwigshafen, Germany). With sales of $6.9 billion in 1997, BASF Corporation Group is among the top ten producers of chemicals and related products in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. "We donžt make a lot of the products you buy. We make a lot of the products you buy better.®" summarizes the diverse product mix BASF offers, such as chemicals polymers, automotive coatings, colorants, pharmaceuticals, nylon fibers and agricultural products. The company employs more than 15,000 people in the NAFTA region and has an Internet site at http: //www.basf.com.