CONCORD, N.C. – In September 2015, Axalta broke ground on a state-of-the-art Customer Experience Center on the Hendrick Motorsports campus.
Tuesday morning, the building officially opened with a ceremonial ribbon-cutting that included Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick and longtime Axalta partner Jeff Gordon.
“This is special,” Hendrick said. “This is something we’ve talked about for years and it’s going to be really great in the industry. To see one of our sponsors build a facility like this on our campus is really important.”
Hendrick Motorsports and Axalta Coating Systems have been in partnership for more than two decades, and the company served as one of Gordon’s sponsors for his entire NASCAR Cup Series career. Axalta remains a sponsor on the No. 88 Chevrolet SS.
The 36,000-square-foot training and conference complex on the Hendrick Motorsports campus is the next step in that partnership.
For a photo gallery of the ribbon-cutting and a tour of the facility, click here.
The center is designed to serve Axalta’s refinish, transportation OEM and industrial customers, boasting two state-of-the-art paint application centers, a collaborative mixing lab and an exhibit lobby where visitors can witness the breadth and depth of Axalta’s technology.
“I think it’s the next step for us,” said Charlie Shaver, Axalta chairman and CEO. “Certainly we appreciate Rick, being able to be on this beautiful campus. We probably have 250 facilities around the world, and I assure you this is in the top five as far as the view, the access and what we’ll be able to do. So, we look forward to being back here every year and watching it grow.”
Shaver said the vision for the project came from Hendrick, “probably as long as 10 years ago.”
“All we did was kind of latch onto that,” he said.
Tuesday, Hendrick relayed how excited he is to have seen the vision become a reality.
“It’s really important. It shows a commitment not just to me, but to the sport and how they feel about the sport in general,” he said. “To see someone make this kind of commitment to the sport and our company, it’s really reassuring.”