AkzoNobel Launches New Automotive Training Centre in Belgium

First to harness hydrogen power spray booth.

AkzoNobel’s Vehicle Refinishes business has invested in a new Automotive Training Centre (ATC) in Belgium to further upskill existing painters, body shop managers and OEM engineers on a new generation of coatings and technologies to support the industry in delivering a more sustainable future.

The ATC in Belgium will be the first to feature a hydrogen-powered spray booth to show body shops how the latest technologies can reduce carbon emissions, lower drying times and consume less energy, thus contributing to a more sustainable operation. It will also have a special air filtration system using ‘active carbon’ to filter any volatile organic compounds (VOCs) generated in the painting process and with extra HEPA air filtration which produces clean air (up to 99%) which is filtered back out into the atmosphere.

The new site, on the Drie Linden commercial park in Zaventem, Brussels, is 30% larger than its previous site to accommodate the new hydrogen-powered combi spray booth for traditional repairs and an ‘all-in-one’-repairs workstation, as well as additional storage. The combi ‘all-in-one’ is used to train painters on the end-to-end production process, from initial sanding to final finish, and with the appropriate ancillary equipment installed. The new ATC also features AkzoNobel’s PaintPerformAir (PPA), which helps bring even greater consistency and efficiency in the painting process.

Hydrogen was chosen over electricity to generate the heat in the spray booth as opposed to non-renewable sources such as gas and fuel oil to meet local technical and legislative requirements. Drie Linden is built to be Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology (BREEAM) certified, demonstrating that it is designed to significantly reduce carbon emissions and contribute to the fight against climate change.

The site in Belgium is one of several ATCs being developed globally as part of a multimillion investment program to offer a wide range of training programs including application training, product and system training, and training in new digital color processes. There will be an emphasis on quality improvement, process improvement, and repairs to RADAR capable vehicles as well as the new generation of Electric Vehicles.

Virtual Reality (VR) technology is to be incorporated to support spray paint training with a simulator that mimics a spray booth environment.

Ignacio Román Navarro, Business Director EMEA, for AkzoNobel’s Vehicle Refinishes business, says the industry of the future requires painters of the future who are fully conversant with the latest technologies and techniques: “By increasing the size of our facility by almost a third, we are able to accommodate more technology to train more people in helping overcome a local and global skills shortage.

According to Navarro, “By installing both our own and third-party equipment, including a next-generation hydrogen spray booth, we can show management and applicators what the future holds on our shared journey towards sustainability, and transforming the vehicle repair industry of the future.”