NASCAR sponsor Axalta breaks ground on Concord facility

Axalta Coating Systems started construction Tuesday on a new training facility on the campus of Hendrick Motorsports in Concord.

Philadelphia-based Axalta, a 23-year Hendrick Motorsports sponsor, manufactures liquid and powder coatings for light and commercial vehicles.

Axalta’s new 45,000-square-foot “customer experience center” is slated to open in late 2016, the company said in a statement this week.

The center will be the training spot for refinish technicians in the mid-Atlantic region, and will house two paint booths, classrooms, interactive displays and a conference center. The facility also will have the technology to conduct distance learning for customers learning remotely from his or her own plant or body shop.

“We offer a hands-on, process-oriented approach. Our instructors, designers, and staff are committed to continuing the education and the development of our partner organizations,” Charlie Shaver, Axalta’s chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement.

Axalta sponsors the Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400, a 400-mile race that’s part of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series on the Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa.

This story was originally published September 9, 2015 at 7:04 AM.