- Chemetall launches first application laboratory for surface treatment in Vietnam
- Strategic investment enhances technical capabilities to better meet the evolving needs of customers in Southeast Asia
Chemetall, the surface treatment global business unit of BASF Coatings, has opened its first application laboratory in the southern province of Tây Ninh (formerly Long An), near Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The facility provides product testing and technical support to surface treatment customers across diverse market segments such as automotive, automotive components, general industry, and plastics recycling.
“Speed is a key competitive advantage in Southeast Asia’s fast-changing market. By investing in local technical capabilities, we add value for our customers and are strategically positioned to address the increasing complexity and evolving needs of strong growth markets like Vietnam with greater speed and agility. Chemetall is committed to delivering innovative surface treatment technologies and providing expert technical services to support our customers’ success in this dynamic region,” said Evelyn Shen, Vice President, Chemetall Asia Pacific.
The new laboratory is equipped to conduct liquid sample analytics, panel and workpiece analytics, and application testing for surface treatment technical trials. Its capabilities streamline the testing and performance validation processes, ensuring that surface treatments applied to materials meet rigorous customer specifications and perform effectively in real-world applications.
“With our advanced technical capabilities and expertise closer to our customers and partners, we enhance collaboration, shorten trial-to-result turnaround time, and provide efficient local support to solve our customers’ technical challenges,” added Mike He, Regional Manager, Application Technologies, Chemetall Asia Pacific.
The launch of the new application laboratory in Vietnam further extends Chemetall’s regional footprint, bringing the total number of application laboratories in Asia Pacific to eight, including operations in Australia, China, India, Singapore and Thailand.
About BASF’s Coatings division
BASF Coatings is a global expert in the development, production and marketing of innovative and sustainable automotive OEM and refinish coatings as well as applied surface treatments for metal, plastic and glass substrates in a wide range of industries. We create advanced performance solutions and drive performance, design and new applications to meet our partners’ needs all over the world. We share skills, knowledge and resources of interdisciplinary and global teams for the benefit of customers by operating a collaborative network of sites in Europe, South America, Middle East, Africa, North America and Asia Pacific. In 2025, our businesses achieved global sales of about €3.7 billion.
BASF Coatings – Driven by passion and science, we always go beyond the surface. For more information, visit www.basf-coatings.com and follow us on LinkedIn.
About BASF
At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. Our ambition: We want to be the preferred chemical company to enable our customers’ green transformation. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. Around 108,000 employees in the BASF Group contribute to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio comprises, as core businesses, the segments Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, and Nutrition & Care; our standalone businesses are bundled in the segments Surface Technologies and Agricultural Solutions. BASF generated sales of €60 billion in 2025. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchange in Frankfurt (BAS) and as American Depositary Receipts (BASFY) in the United States. Further information at www.basf.com.
