Spies Hecker supplies specialist technicians at Worldskills
For four days, young vehicle refinishers from 24 countries competed in a 2,500m2 arena for medals at WorldSkills 2013 in Leipzig, Germany. Spies Hecker provided five specialist technicians and the paint material to support the competition and its participants.
“It was very important for us to support the world championship in crafts and trades. The WorldSkills competition clearly demonstrates how much potential there is in refinishing,” says Spies Hecker brand manager Joachim Hinz. Spies Hecker sponsored the world championship along with Volkswagen Service Deutschland and other suppliers.
Spies Hecker was involved from the start of the competition. Frank Barduna, Spies Hecker Technical Service, explains, “we made two tonnes of paint material available for the competitors. We set up three mixing benches and six ColorTint HD PC systems with mixing scales and label printers in the colour mixing room as well, so the competitors had the best-possible equipment at their disposal.”
The Spies Hecker technicians assisted behind the scenes – and their expertise was much in demand. They were available to the competitors throughout the event but without intervening in the competition itself. “Our job was to keep everything running smoothly from the technical point of view during the Skill’s 36 discipline,” says Barduna.
Right by the arena, Spies Hecker had an exhibition stand to demonstrate what makes car painting so fascinating. The biggest crowd-pullers were the virtual paint sprayer from SATA and the replica Audi S1 sports car constructed by Spies Hecker customer Volker Gehrt.
Hinz says, “we were delighted with the huge interest in our stand. It was fascinating to see the enthusiasm of the contestants and of the other suppliers who provided support. The mood during the closing ceremony showed how invested the visitors were with the event. We offer congratulations to World Champion Pascal Lehmann from Switzerland and all top-placed competitors.”
In the week immediately after the event in Leipzig, Hinz and Selcuk Özgül, from Spies Hecker importer CH Coatings, congratulated the Gold medal winner in Pratteln, Switzerland.
“We’re very impressed by the high standards of performance achieved by all the contestants in Leipzig. They rank among the world elite and demonstrated a high level of commitment and concentration during the competition. It’s fantastic to see that we’ve got such highly motivated young specialists in our trade,” Hinz said.
