Dave Savastano, Editor07.31.15
11. ALTANA AG
Abelstraße 43
46483 Wesel, Germany
Tel: +49 281 670-8
Fax: +49 281 670-10999
www.altana.com
E-mail: info@altana.com
Sales: $300 million in printing ink and graphic arts coatings sales (Ink World estimate); €1.952 billion overall.
Major Products: Metallic inks and pigments; UV and water-based inks and coatings.
Key Personnel: Dr. Matthias L. Wolfgruber, CEO; Martin Babilas, member of the Management Board; Dr. Christoph Schlünken, member of the Management Board; Dr. Stephen Glander, president, BYK Additives & Instruments; Dr. Wolfgang Schütt, president Division Effect Pigments, chairman of the Management Board ECKART GmbH; Dr. Guido Forstbach, president Division Electrical Insulation, chairman of the Management Board ELANTAS GmbH; Dr. Roland Peter, president Division Coatings & Sealants, chairman of the Management Board ACTEGA GmbH.
Number of Employees: 6,064
Comments: ALTANA AG enjoyed an excellent year in 2014, with sales growing 11% to €1.952 billion, with acquisitions adding 7% to the Group’s sales growth. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) grew by 18%, amounting to €397 million. At 20.4%, the EBITDA margin reflects a clear margin expansion compared to the previous year (19.0%).
Dr. Matthias L. Wolfgruber, CEO of ALTANA AG, said that 2014 was a strong year for ALTANA. “We are well on track to continue on our path of profitable growth,” Dr. Wolfgruber added.
In important news, the Supervisory Board of ALTANA appointed Martin Babilas, ALTANA’s CFO since 2007, to become CEO on Jan. 1, 2016. He will succeed Dr. Wolfgruber, who will retire. In November 2014, Babilas took over additional responsibility of two of the company’s four divisions from Dr. Wolfgruber. Babilas has worked for ALTANA since 1998.
“Under the leadership of Dr. Wolfgruber, ALTANA’s chemical business has developed extraordinarily successfully in the last 13 years while undergoing constant changes,” said Dr. Klaus-Jürgen Schmieder, chairman of the Supervisory Board of ALTANA AG.
“As a longtime member of the Management Board, Martin Babilas has played a key role in the development of ALTANA’s strategy. We are convinced that he will continue to lead the company on this successful path.”
The ALTANA Group consists of four divisions: BYK Additives & Instruments, ECKART Effect Pigments, ELANTAS Electrical Insulation and ACTEGA Coatings & Sealants. ECKART Effect Pigments and ACTEGA Coatings & Sealants play particularly large roles in terms of ink and graphic arts coatings.
The ECKART Effect Pigments division, the leading metallic ink and pigment manufacturer in the world, also has a sizable position in pearlescent pigments. It generated sales of €332 million in 2014, 1% lower than in the previous year. This decrease is due to changes in the product mix with volumes remaining unchanged.
ACTEGA Coatings & Sealants includes a wide range of inks and coatings operations: ACTEGA WIT, the former Water Ink Technologies, a North American water-based ink maker; ACTEGA Colorchemie GmbH, a water-based flexo and gravure ink manufacturer; ACTEGA Terra GmbH and ACTEGA Kelstar, which produces UV and water-based coatings for graphic arts for Europe and North America, respectively.
Sales in the ACTEGA Coatings & Sealants division grew by 2% to €332 million. The increase includes positive acquisition effects from the integration of activities acquired in 2013. However, the acquisition of two companies in Brazil in December 2014 is not yet reflected in the increase.
The BYK Additives & Instruments division, ALTANA’s largest, includes waxes, additives and testing equipment. Compared to the previous year, its sales rose by 24% to €857 million. The successful integration of Rockwood’s rheology activities contributed 18% to this growth. Sales in the ELANTAS Electrical Insulation division rose by 4% to €431 million in the 2014 fiscal year.
In December 2014, ALTANA expanded its business in Brazil through acquisitions. As a result, the ACTEGA division now has its own sites in South America’s largest country.
The acquired companies are owner-operated and headquartered in São Paulo. Premiata, which operates Premiata Tintas and Premiata Especialidades Químicas, specializes, respectively, in printing inks and coatings for the packaging industry with 140 employees. Overlake is an overprint varnishes specialist with 70 employees at one site.
“Through these acquisitions we are systematically expanding our business in the growing Brazilian market,” said Babilas. “As both companies focus entirely on specialty chemicals and tailored customer solutions, they are a perfect match for ALTANA.”
In June 2014, ALTANA concluded an equity financing agreement with Landa Corporation under which ALTANA invested €100 million for a minority stake in Landa Digital Printing.
Both companies see the agreement not only as a financial investment, but also as a starting point for a long-term strategic partnership to bring digital printing solutions to the commercial, packaging and publishing markets.
With the completion and operational start of the expanded production capacities for BYK Additives in the U.S., the largest single investment of the ALTANA Group outside of Germany to date was finished according to plan in 2014. Further capital projects included the continual expansion of the largest additives production site in Wesel, and the expansion of capacities in Hartenstein for the manufacture of ECKART effect pigments for the construction industry.
Abelstraße 43
46483 Wesel, Germany
Tel: +49 281 670-8
Fax: +49 281 670-10999
www.altana.com
E-mail: info@altana.com
Sales: $300 million in printing ink and graphic arts coatings sales (Ink World estimate); €1.952 billion overall.
Major Products: Metallic inks and pigments; UV and water-based inks and coatings.
Key Personnel: Dr. Matthias L. Wolfgruber, CEO; Martin Babilas, member of the Management Board; Dr. Christoph Schlünken, member of the Management Board; Dr. Stephen Glander, president, BYK Additives & Instruments; Dr. Wolfgang Schütt, president Division Effect Pigments, chairman of the Management Board ECKART GmbH; Dr. Guido Forstbach, president Division Electrical Insulation, chairman of the Management Board ELANTAS GmbH; Dr. Roland Peter, president Division Coatings & Sealants, chairman of the Management Board ACTEGA GmbH.
Number of Employees: 6,064
Comments: ALTANA AG enjoyed an excellent year in 2014, with sales growing 11% to €1.952 billion, with acquisitions adding 7% to the Group’s sales growth. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) grew by 18%, amounting to €397 million. At 20.4%, the EBITDA margin reflects a clear margin expansion compared to the previous year (19.0%).
Dr. Matthias L. Wolfgruber, CEO of ALTANA AG, said that 2014 was a strong year for ALTANA. “We are well on track to continue on our path of profitable growth,” Dr. Wolfgruber added.
In important news, the Supervisory Board of ALTANA appointed Martin Babilas, ALTANA’s CFO since 2007, to become CEO on Jan. 1, 2016. He will succeed Dr. Wolfgruber, who will retire. In November 2014, Babilas took over additional responsibility of two of the company’s four divisions from Dr. Wolfgruber. Babilas has worked for ALTANA since 1998.
“Under the leadership of Dr. Wolfgruber, ALTANA’s chemical business has developed extraordinarily successfully in the last 13 years while undergoing constant changes,” said Dr. Klaus-Jürgen Schmieder, chairman of the Supervisory Board of ALTANA AG.
“As a longtime member of the Management Board, Martin Babilas has played a key role in the development of ALTANA’s strategy. We are convinced that he will continue to lead the company on this successful path.”
The ALTANA Group consists of four divisions: BYK Additives & Instruments, ECKART Effect Pigments, ELANTAS Electrical Insulation and ACTEGA Coatings & Sealants. ECKART Effect Pigments and ACTEGA Coatings & Sealants play particularly large roles in terms of ink and graphic arts coatings.
The ECKART Effect Pigments division, the leading metallic ink and pigment manufacturer in the world, also has a sizable position in pearlescent pigments. It generated sales of €332 million in 2014, 1% lower than in the previous year. This decrease is due to changes in the product mix with volumes remaining unchanged.
ACTEGA Coatings & Sealants includes a wide range of inks and coatings operations: ACTEGA WIT, the former Water Ink Technologies, a North American water-based ink maker; ACTEGA Colorchemie GmbH, a water-based flexo and gravure ink manufacturer; ACTEGA Terra GmbH and ACTEGA Kelstar, which produces UV and water-based coatings for graphic arts for Europe and North America, respectively.
Sales in the ACTEGA Coatings & Sealants division grew by 2% to €332 million. The increase includes positive acquisition effects from the integration of activities acquired in 2013. However, the acquisition of two companies in Brazil in December 2014 is not yet reflected in the increase.
The BYK Additives & Instruments division, ALTANA’s largest, includes waxes, additives and testing equipment. Compared to the previous year, its sales rose by 24% to €857 million. The successful integration of Rockwood’s rheology activities contributed 18% to this growth. Sales in the ELANTAS Electrical Insulation division rose by 4% to €431 million in the 2014 fiscal year.
In December 2014, ALTANA expanded its business in Brazil through acquisitions. As a result, the ACTEGA division now has its own sites in South America’s largest country.
The acquired companies are owner-operated and headquartered in São Paulo. Premiata, which operates Premiata Tintas and Premiata Especialidades Químicas, specializes, respectively, in printing inks and coatings for the packaging industry with 140 employees. Overlake is an overprint varnishes specialist with 70 employees at one site.
“Through these acquisitions we are systematically expanding our business in the growing Brazilian market,” said Babilas. “As both companies focus entirely on specialty chemicals and tailored customer solutions, they are a perfect match for ALTANA.”
In June 2014, ALTANA concluded an equity financing agreement with Landa Corporation under which ALTANA invested €100 million for a minority stake in Landa Digital Printing.
Both companies see the agreement not only as a financial investment, but also as a starting point for a long-term strategic partnership to bring digital printing solutions to the commercial, packaging and publishing markets.
With the completion and operational start of the expanded production capacities for BYK Additives in the U.S., the largest single investment of the ALTANA Group outside of Germany to date was finished according to plan in 2014. Further capital projects included the continual expansion of the largest additives production site in Wesel, and the expansion of capacities in Hartenstein for the manufacture of ECKART effect pigments for the construction industry.