Press Release: MoonWalk - new automated mixing system for paint shops

At a big event in Madrid, the paint supplier PPG has recently launched a new automated refinish paint mixing solution under the name of MOONWALK^TM. The innovation makes automatic mixing affordable for most paint shops, and by removing manual processes in the mixing room, the new machine streamlines paint shop processes and reduces both labor time and material consumption.

Over 500 people from more than 30 countries attended the MOONWALK™ worldwide launch event at the end of June in Madrid. PPG had invited both current customers, press, potential customers and cooperation partners. The attendees greeted the MOONWALK™ color dispenser with excitement.

One of the customers who participated in the event was co-owner Morten Grahn Pedersen from Skyttemarkens Autolakering in Denmark:”There is no doubt that this way of mixing is the future in our business. This is also why we have already decided that we need one in our shop to ensure that we stay competitive in the future”.

Paint shop Manager Bobby Sandberg from Upplands Motor in Sweden:
“My employees will for sure be very happy not having to mix manually anymore. And as soon as we learned about the concept we decided that we needed one in our paint shop”.

Terje Christiansen from Billakkering Kokstad AS in Norway: “I think that the MoonWalk machine looks very interesting. I can see a big advantage in not having to mix manually any more. Also it will be a big advantage that the machine mixes very precisely.”

Four years of extensive development

The team of PPG specialists who developed MOONWALK™ spent close to 4 years innovating a new standard in paint mixing by focusing on the pain points of users: Most painters are motivated by being able to use their core skills, not spending too much time mixing and cleaning. Mixing usually takes a lot of time, and can be quite messy, but MOONWALK™ allows paint technicians to do other things while it is automatically doing the mixing jobs in a clean environment. And when the mixing room is as clean as the rest of the paint shop, it becomes easier to attract skilled workers for the paint shop.

Fast and clean paint mixing

Another clear advantage of MOONWALK™ is the fact that the machine can mix 10 times more precisely than any human can.

As PPG Refinish Scandinavia, Product and Training Manager, Peter Boelsmand, who demonstrated the MOONWALK™ machine to the Nordic customers in Madrid, explains: 

“The ultra-precision scale measures with an accuracy of 0.01grams which is 10 times more accurate than standard scales. This will reduce product waste to an absolute minimum and it allows you to do small volume mixes with no product waste.”

But it is not only about accuracy, it is also about improved efficiency in the paint shop. Peter Boelsmand elaborates: “After intensive testing of various mixing jobs, it shows how much time you will actually save on a daily basis in the mixing room. Normally, a manual mixing job will take 9-15 minutes, but with MOONWALK™, it takes around 2 minutes. So, you will at least save 7 minutes per job. In addition, I would like to mention the cleanliness as a big advantage. You do not have to spend time on cleaning as the machine has self-clean pumps. It just looks nice and clean. Always.”

Automatic, but easy to use

MOONWALK™ is sized to fit all mixing rooms. In addition, the fact that the mixing machine is seamlessly connected to PPG’s paint mixing software, PaintManager, will give painters a good overview and control of the paint that they are using. On the screen, they can easily follow the mixing job; are all the cans in place; is everything running smoothly; how many milligrams are you using etc. If there is something wrong related to the mixing job, the computer will let you know – and the machine will, as well, by turning on the red light.

Improving customer efficiency

The development of the machine is fully in line with the main aim of PPG Refinish, which is to help improve the profitability of their customers by increasing the labor efficiency and create material savings.

Business Manager Thomas Krüger explains why there is a perfect fit between the MoonWalk machine and their customer approach: “Customer centricity and innovative thinking are the pillars of the MoonWalk project – which is simply redefining the standard of paint mixing in the industry. It will bring our customers less product waste, more value-added time and no mess in the paint mixing area. This will immediately bring higher efficiency, quality, productivity and employee satisfaction to any bodyshop working with MoonWalk. This is perfectly in line with the overall aim we have to partner with our customers to create mutual value”.

The overall impression left with the many event attendees was that MOONWALK™ will significantly reduce product waste, save productive labor time and transform the mixing room into a cleaner, safer and more attractive environment.