Azelis and Chemetall expand strategic distribution agreement for the surface treatment market across North America

• Enables seamless logistics management, warehousing and distribution across North America
• Creates expanded distribution and sales potential for the partners
• Dedicated portal to serve as a key enabler in serving customers by driving greater efficiency and transparency

Chemetall, the surface treatment global business unit of BASF Coatings, and Azelis, the reference innovation service provider in the speciality chemicals and food ingredients industry, have expanded their distribution partnership agreement across North America, now including the United States and Mexico in addition to Canada. 

Azelis has been appointed to distribute Chemetall’s surface treatment solutions for general industrial applications throughout the region. The partnership for Canada began in November 2025, followed by Mexico in April 2026, and the U.S. agreement in May 2026.

The expanded partnership underscores the complementary strengths of Azelis and Chemetall, and our shared commitment to customer excellence across North America. Azelis’s digital tools and platforms remain key drivers in strengthening this relationship. Through Azelis’s customer portals, customers across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico can easily access Chemetall's cutting-edge, high-performance surface treatment technologies and solutions. Combined with Azelis’s deep regional market knowledge, technical expertise, and hands-on local support, these portals provide 24/7 access to download technical and safety information, place orders, and request samples. 

“This expanded partnership with Azelis is an important step in strengthening Chemetall’s position across North America and advancing our long-term growth strategy,” said Karlheinz Zander, BASF’s Vice President Surface Treatment North America. “By combining Chemetall’s innovation leadership with Azelis’s market reach, digital capabilities and local technical support, we are creating a more integrated, responsive experience for our customers across the United States, Canada and Mexico. Together, we are well positioned to deliver greater value, accelerate access to our technologies and seamlessly support our customers as their needs evolve.”

Todd Cottrell, CEO of Azelis Americas, concludes, “This expanded partnership reflects our shared commitment to delivering greater value to customers across North America. By combining Chemetall’s industry-leading surface treatment technologies with Azelis’s technical expertise, local presence, and digital capabilities, we are making it easier for customers to access the solutions, information, and support they need to succeed. Together, we are creating a more connected, efficient, and responsive customer experience that helps drive growth and innovation across the market.” 

About Azelis

Azelis is the reference global innovation service provider in the speciality chemical and food ingredients industry, present in 64 countries across the globe with over 4,100 employees. Our knowledgeable teams of industry, market and technical experts are each dedicated to a specific market within Life Sciences and Industrial Chemicals. We offer a comprehensive portfolio of complementary products to more than 65,000 customers, supported by +2,800 principal relationships, creating a turnover of €4.1 billion (2025). Azelis Group NV is listed on Euronext Brussels under ticker AZE and is included in the BEL20 and BEL®ESG indices.

Across our extensive network of more than 70 application laboratories, our award-winning teams develop innovative and sustainable formulations and provide technical guidance throughout the product development process. We combine global market reach with a local footprint to offer reliable, integrated, and unique digital services to local customers and attractive business opportunities to principals. Recognised for our sustainability leadership, we are committed to responsible growth that positively impacts people, communities and the planet. Through the application of science and deep market expertise, we act as catalysts for innovation, enabling our customers to win and our principals to grow.

Innovation through formulation.

www.azelis.com

About BASF Coatings

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 Chemetall

The surface treatment global business unit of BASF Coatings, operating under the Chemetall brand, is a leading supplier of applied surface treatment technologies for metal, plastic, and glass substrates. These specialty chemicals are used in a wide range of industries and end markets, such as, but not limited to, automotive, aerospace, aluminum finishing, coil, and metal forming, supported by a large network of technical specialists.

The portfolio includes solutions for ensuring corrosion protection and coating adhesion, forming and machining of substrates, applications to prepare surfaces for painting processes, and sealants for specific applications in the aerospace industry. Chemetall is headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and comprises of about 40 facilities, 16 production sites, and a network of technology centres.

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