The facility has also been designed to accommodate waterborne paint in the future.
INOKOM has opened a new RM 300 million paint facility at its manufacturing plant in Kulim, Kedah, doubling its total paint shop capacity to 100,000 vehicle bodies per year.
Known as Paint Shop 3 (PS3), the new facility can handle up to 50,000 painted vehicle bodies annually on a two-shift operation, at a rate of 15 units per hour.
It also has the capability to paint plastic components. The facility adds production capacity for multiple vehicle programmes, including Mazda, while giving Inokom additional flexibility for other completely knocked-down (CKD) customers and future models.
Most of PS3’s operations are automated. It uses a fully automated pre-treatment and electrodeposition line, advanced spray booths and an integrated conveyor system, together with 32 painting and sealant robots.
The facility can support up to 27 colour variants, with its Cartridge Bell System able to switch colours in under 10 seconds.
Vehicle bodies are transferred automatically between the Body Shop, PS3 and Assembly Shop through overhead tunnels, while the paint shop itself uses a 1,053-metre automated conveyor network.
PS3 also introduces a three-coat, one-bake process, allowing three paint layers to be applied before a single baking cycle. According to Inokom, this reduces energy consumption and shortens processing time.
Other sustainability measures include a Regenerative Thermal Oxidiser system that is claimed to reduce CO2 emissions from four ovens by around 60%, along with a dry scrubber filtration system that eliminates water use in spray booth operations.
The facility has also been designed to accommodate waterborne paint in the future.
Mazda’s technical support team was involved in the development of PS3, providing training, technical guidance and knowledge transfer to Inokom employees during installation and commissioning.
The facility was launched by Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani and is operated by a fully Malaysian workforce.
