DAF Trucks has opened a completely new cab paint facility in Westerlo, Belgium. The new facility represents a 100 million euro investment and sets new standards in quality, efficiency and environmental-friendliness.

DAF originally opened its Westerlo factory in 1966, where – in addition to its high quality cabs – it also produces its highly efficient axles. DAF Vlaanderen is among the largest companies in Belgium, with some 2600 employees manufacturing cabs and axles for medium and heavy-duty DAF trucks.

The new cab paint facility is capable of painting 3,000 customer-selected colours per day (70,000 per year), which represents an increase of 50% over the current paint factory. The capacity increase will accommodate DAF‘s future growth in Europe and around the globe.

DAF‘s new cab paint facility is among the most modern in the world. The facility was created in cooperation with suppliers Cordeel Company, Eisenmann and Du¨rr, who are leaders in the field of creating automotive paint facilities. The ultra-modern paint robot spray nozzles rotate at speeds of up to 50,000rpm to produce world-class quality and minimise paint consumption.

As a result of the advanced paint systems a 50% reduction in emissions is being realised. Many innovative solutions are employed, including a special method to reduce and capture the overspray while painting the cabs, using the latest technologies to clean the air leaving the spray booths, and extracting energy from the exhaust stream to help efficiently operate the plant.

Richard Smart, general sales manager of Southpac Trucks Ltd, says about 40% of the DAFs they sell in New Zealand are now painted in client colours, with the remainder in ice white for stock or wraps.