
Car Body Painting 2026 – 43. Conference
Efficient, stable and sustainable paint shop operations remain one of the key challenges in automotive manufacturing. While new technologies continue to emerge, day-to-day success in series production depends on robust processes, practical solutions and the ability to continuously improve quality, efficiency and reliability. All of this against the backdrop of sustainability.
Car Body Painting 2026 is dedicated to the realities of daily paint shop operations. The conference brings together paint shop specialists, production experts, quality engineers, maintenance professionals and technology partners to exchange hands-on experience and proven approaches from real production environments.
The programme focuses on practical applications, technical detail and lessons learned from series production. OEMs, suppliers and further trades provide concrete insights, measurable results and transferable solutions that help paint shop professionals address current operational challenges.
A special highlight is the Shared Solutions Area:
Here, OEMs exclusively present their solutions for a defined technical topic – side by side, comparable and focused. This unique format enables participants to gain direct insights into available technologies, understand differences and identify best-fit solutions for their own operations.
The conference offers an ideal platform for technical exchange, peer-to-peer learning and practical knowledge transfer – designed for professionals who want to improve existing processes, increase operational stability and solve challenges efficiently.
We are looking forward to meeting you in Bad Nauheim (Germany) in November 2026!
Don’t miss any updates by following our LinkedIn Account and the Hashtag #ACCarBodyPainting
Preliminary Conference Program
| 8:00 AM |
Conference Registration |
|
| 9:00 AM |
Welcome and conference introduction |
Andrea Hubner, Automotive Circle, DE |
| 9:15 AM |
Presentation – tba |
Sebastian Braun, Roland Berger GmbH, DE |
Transformation of the Paintshop |
||
| 9:45 AM |
Driving the Future – Body Paint Shop Transformation for Battery Covers & Housings: Implementation Journey in Gliwice |
Aleksandra Cichy, Wojciech Więckowski, Stellantis, PL |
| 10:15 AM |
Bentley – New Paint Shop, High Quality Painting |
Maciej Laufer, Bentley Motors, UK; Dr. Thomas Barmbold, Paintnology GmbH, DE |
| 10:45 AM |
Meet the speakers | Exhibition | Coffee and contacts |
|
| 11:30 AM |
From Defect Detection to Quality Improvement – A Case Study |
Tim Linden, Ford Motor Company, ES; Ricardo de Jorge, Eines Vision Systems, FR |
| 12:00 PM |
From Lab to Line – Innovative Paint Inspection in production |
Jason Fernandes, Toyota Motor Europe, BE; Tom Reichert, Virelux Inspection Systems s.à r.l., LU |
| 12:30 PM |
A Profitability Analysis that transformes the paint shop process |
Thomas Kitzlinger, Micro-Epsilon Messtechnik GmbH & Co. KG, DE |
| 1:00 PM |
Meet the speakers | Exhibition | Lunch break |
|
Digitalisation and AI |
||
| 2:15 PM |
Presentation – tba |
Gido Hoppe, Audi AG, DE; Dr. Martin Schifko, ESS Engineering Software Steyr, AT |
| 2:45 PM |
Making Robot Painting Accessible: No-Code Programming with AI-Based Spray Monitoring |
Thomas Hess, Fraunhofer-Institut für Produktionstechnik und Automatisierung IPA, DE; Meiko Hecker, AOM-Systems GmbH, DE |
| 3:15 PM |
AI-Based Material Characterization of Droplets in Paint Sprays |
Dr. Walter Schäfer, ai-quanton GmbH, DE; Hiroyuki Kakehata, Anest Iwata Corp., JP |
| 3:45 PM |
Meet the speakers | Exhibition | Coffee and contacts |
|
| 4:15 PM |
Shared Solutions Area – Customisation |
|
| 5:45 PM |
Networking dinner |
|
Process Improvements in the Paintshop |
||
| 9:00 AM |
Implementation of Drop-on-Demand in the seam sealing process: From Innovation to Value – technology adoption, production experience and business value creation |
Stefan Schmidgall, Eugen Hepting, Mercedes-Benz AG, DE |
| 9:30 AM |
Automated Cavity Wax Application for Enhanced Corrosion Protection |
Ottmar Kern, IPR Intelligente Peripherien für Roboter GmbH, DE |
| 10:00 AM |
Keep Production Moving: Laser Cleaning Technology for Paint Skids |
Steffen Neuhaus, SLCR Lasertechnik GmbH, DE |
| 10:30 AM |
Meet the speakers | Exhibition | Coffee and contacts |
|
Sustainability & Efficiency |
||
| 11:15 AM |
New Coating and Paintings Methods for Exterior Body Panels for the Automotive Industry |
Jens Winiarz, Hennecke GmbH, DE |
| 11:45 AM |
New Process – Saving Paint, Fulfilling Sustainability Targets |
Jürgen Kristen, ABB Robotics Deutschland GmbH, DE |
| 12:15 AM |
Presentation – tba |
Marcel Isrow, General Motors Company, US; Matthew Sikowski, Fanuc America, US |
| 12:45 PM |
Meet the speakers | Exhibition | Lunch break |
|
| 1:45 PM |
Presentation – tba |
|
| 2:15 PM |
Presentation – tba |
|
| 2:45 PM |
End of Conference |
|
| Subject to change As of August 26, 2026 |
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Why Attend?
- Solve real paint shop challenges
Gain practical insights and proven solutions for improving quality, efficiency, process stability and operational performance.
- Learn from hands-on experience
Benefit from technical presentations that focus on implementation, lessons learned and measurable results from production environments.
- Compare solutions directly
Explore the Shared Solutions Area, where OEM exclusively present and discuss approaches to a defined engineering or process challenge in a unique side-by-side format.
- Exchange knowledge with peers
Connect with paint shop professionals, discuss common challenges and learn from experiences across the industry.
- Take home ideas you can apply
Leave with practical knowledge, new contacts and concrete approaches that can support your daily work and future projects.
Shared Solutions Area
Become a sponsor or an exhibitor
Take advantage of the high coverage of the Automotive Circle and profit from the sponsoring options before and during the events. Show your competence and services, matching the conference subjects, to the numerous car body engineers of international OEM. Thus, you are strengthening your brand awareness in the automotive industry!
Come on board as an exhibitor or sponsor and benefit from this excellent platform to strongly promote your company’s capabilities as a reliable supplier!
If you have any question or want to request additional information on exhibiton & sponsoring options, please contact Ms. Frauke Haentsch.
OEM Board
Dr. Alexander Lemke
AUDI AG
Peter Kramer
BMW Group, DE
Marco Mendoza
General Motors
Dave Green
Jaguar Land Rover Group Ltd.
Anant Khond
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd
Matthias Helming
Mercedes-Benz
Martin Steimle
NIO GmbH
Tomofumi Kabe
Nissan
Martin Knoll
Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG
Raphael Draber
Groupe Renault
Iris Menke-Hermani
Stellantis, DE
Rodolphe Anquetil
Stellantis
Zoltan Horvath
Toyota Motor Europe
Martin Söldner
Volkswagen AG
Tatjana Fritz
Volkswagen
Malin Dahlén
Volvo Car Corporation
Participants
Self-Service of your Event Registration
Manage your registration after having registered for this event. Make changes such as participant changes, invoice address corrections, adding an order / reference number, or make cancellations.
Please use the email address of the person placing the order if it differs from that of the participant:
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