Eastman Performance Films Continues to Invest for Growth

Window tint and paint protection film (PPF) dealers, automotive after-market manufacturers and car enthusiasts will experience excitement at the Eastman Performance Films, LLC (Eastman) booth during SEMA 2018, to be held in Las Vegas Oct. 30 – Nov. 2. The booth will showcase Eastman’s latest investments in the areas of training excellence, technical service expertise, product innovation and marketing capabilities.

Houston, Texas and Shanghai, China are the latest facilities added to the company’s growing worldwide footprint of state-of-art installation training centers. These centers offer interactive, hands-on training classes in automotive, architectural, paint protection and safety films. Two additional locations in Florida and Toronto will be opening in early 2019, bringing the current number of centers to nine.

The training centers have their own dedicated team of experts committed to providing dealers and installers with the knowledge needed to get started in the business. The program is a perfect accompaniment to the Performance Films Pattern and Software Design Center, where 85% of all new-model automotive patterns are now cut in-house. SEMA attendees can take a virtual training center tour and see the company’s investment come to life.

“We’re very excited to introduce the new centers and to expand our global training presence,” said Travis Smith, Vice President & General Manager. “Our international training and tech services team brings over 500 years of combined industry experience and technical expertise. The team is very passionate and dedicated to delivering the highest level of training and pattern quality out there, and we’re really proud of that.”

In an industry-leading move, Eastman will be the first to manufacture and market 72” PPF. This innovative offering helps installers perform seamless installation on larger hoods and will be available for purchase in January 2019. Learn more and see PPF installation demonstrations on a 2019 Aston Martin Vantage at Eastman’s booth.

Other SEMA highlights will include an opportunity for installers to heat-shrink the new LLumar 25% CTX ceramic window tint, and for visitors to learn about the company’s strong emphasis around digital marketing. Current dealers can sign up for a complimentary digital audit of their website as well as an evaluation of their social media activity.

Add to this the anticipated unveiling of the LLumar 2019 paint scheme for the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, driven by Alex Bowman in the premier NASCAR Cup Series, and you’ve got a robust Eastman SEMA experience.

This latest announcement from Eastman follows a series of ongoing investments which include a major expansion in Eastman’s Martinsville, Virginia manufacturing plant completed in March of this year; the February 2018 signing of a three-year partnership with 12-time NASCAR Cup Series champions Hendrick Motorsports and sponsoring of the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driven by Alex Bowman; a significant focus on PPF pattern expertise and development with the 4Q 2017 launch of the Pattern and Software Design Center; and last year’s introduction of Eastman’s next generation PPF -- all significant activities that reinforce Eastman’s continued commitment to support its dealers and partners.