07.19.23
Abelstraße 43
46483 Wesel, Germany
Tel: +49 281 670-8
www.altana.com
E-mail: info@altana.com
Sales: More than $400 million in printing ink and graphic arts coatings sales (Ink World estimate); €3.02 billion overall.
Major Products: Metallic inks and pigments; UV and water-based inks and coatings.
Key Personnel: Martin Babilas, CEO; Dr. Tammo Boinowitz, president Division BYK, member of the management board; Stefan Genten, member of the Management Board; Thorsten Kröller, president Division ACTEGA, chairman of the Management Board ACTEGA GmbH; Ravinda Kumar, president Division ELANTAS, chairman of the Management Board ELANTAS GmbH; Dr. Christian Przybyla, president Division ECKART, chairman of the Management Board ECKART GmbH; Dr. Petra Severit, CTO.
Number of Employees: More than 7,000.
Comments: ALTANA AG is a global leader in specialty chemicals, made up of four divisions: BYK, ECKART, ELANTAS and ACTEGA. In terms of ink and graphic arts, ECKART is an industry leader in metallic inks and pigments, and ACTEGA has a strong presence in packaging inks, overprint varnishes and coatings.
ALTANA had a record sales year in 2022, breaking the $3 billion mark and closing the year at €3.021 billion, up 13% from 2021 and an increase of nearly 40% in the last two years. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were above the average of the previous years, at €452 million, but 6% below the figure for 2021 due to high material, energy, and freight costs. The EBITDA margin was 15 percent due to inflation and therefore below the long-term target range.
“In spite of all the challenges, ALTANA once again completed a successful year in 2022,” said Martin Babilas, CEO of ALTANA AG, in announcing the results. “The past year once again made two qualities of the entire ALTANA team clear: Our company is highly resilient even in very turbulent times, primarily due to our financial and innovative strength as well as our flexible and customer-oriented positioning. Secondly, we not only react to external factors of influence, but actively make important contributions to meeting the great challenges of our time, first and foremost climate change.”
On the graphics arts and ink side, ECKART recorded sales of €397 million, or 4% growth, while ACTEGA sales were up 20%, at €555 million.
In a significant move, ACTEGA announced plans to open a new 238,000 square foot facility in Kings Mountain, NC, which will bring together four existing facilities located in North Carolina and Indiana. The new facility will occupy twice the space of ACTEGA’s four locations in North America combined, and is set to open in Q2 2024.
The new facility will offer a state-of-the-art pigment dispersions process, manufacturing of metal decorating inks, production of indirect food contact printing inks and direct food contact barrier coatings.
“This new production site will become an important part of ACTEGA’s global infrastructure with expanded manufacturing capabilities in North Carolina and New Jersey in North America while allowing us to leverage advanced technologies and increase our capacity significantly to meet the growing demand for our products and solutions,” said Andrei Sotkeviciene, recently appointed resident of ACTEGA North America, in announcing the plans.
ALTANA spends 7% of its revenue on R&D, leading to new technologies such as ACTGreen Barrier Coatings, ECOLEAF and Signite, which are both sustainable and successful. ECOLEAF is a sustainable metallization technology that significantly reduces economic barriers, such as material and waste, and offers increased production flexibility compared to today’s conventional processes that are mainly foil-based.
“We have continued to invest in new technologies,” an ALTANA spokesperson noted. “ACTEGA as an example further invested in ECOLEAF and Signite and has achieved its goals focused on supporting their development and adoption. As a result, ECOLEAF market adoption accelerated in 2022 with multiple installations across Europe. Initial calculations from our Life Cycle Assessment find that ECOLEAF can achieve a carbon footprint reduction of more than 50 percent compared to cold and hot foil processes. Signite enables brands to achieve more from their product decorations.”
“Sustainability is at the core of our business,” the ALTANA spokesperson noted. “ALTANA’s division ACTEGA wants to make the packaging industry even more sustainable. As such, our focus on reducing our impact on the planet, both from a company perspective and a wider, product and industry point of view, combined with our drive to support long-term success for brands and customers, gives us clear direction.
“As an example, multi-layer substrates have typically been used as a barrier for packaging,” they continued. “However, the poor recyclability of these materials is a major drawback. The above-mentioned substrates are increasingly falling into disrepute and are subject to ever more comprehensive regulations. At the same time, the legal requirements for recycling or disposing of such production materials pose a major challenge for many processing companies. As a sustainable alternative, ACTEGA has developed ACTGreen Barrier Coatings, which include both water-based barrier coatings and aqueous TPE dispersions as coating or binder systems for various applications and end uses. These products are demonstrably sustainable, meeting upcoming regulatory requirements related to packaging waste and recyclability.
ALTANA anticipates continued growth in 2023, with new technologies leading the way.
“You will certainly see a further demonstration of our longstanding commitment to innovation, adding value to our customers’ businesses and the wider industry,” the spokesperson concluded. “Additionally, we will make further advances in our aim to create a circular ecosystem and reduce our climate impact. To give just one example: ALTANA’s division ACTEGA has already made significant progress by using its own electricity and heat from renewable sources. With the right mindset and resources at hand, 2023 is shaping up to be an exciting year.”
46483 Wesel, Germany
Tel: +49 281 670-8
www.altana.com
E-mail: info@altana.com
Sales: More than $400 million in printing ink and graphic arts coatings sales (Ink World estimate); €3.02 billion overall.
Major Products: Metallic inks and pigments; UV and water-based inks and coatings.
Key Personnel: Martin Babilas, CEO; Dr. Tammo Boinowitz, president Division BYK, member of the management board; Stefan Genten, member of the Management Board; Thorsten Kröller, president Division ACTEGA, chairman of the Management Board ACTEGA GmbH; Ravinda Kumar, president Division ELANTAS, chairman of the Management Board ELANTAS GmbH; Dr. Christian Przybyla, president Division ECKART, chairman of the Management Board ECKART GmbH; Dr. Petra Severit, CTO.
Number of Employees: More than 7,000.
Comments: ALTANA AG is a global leader in specialty chemicals, made up of four divisions: BYK, ECKART, ELANTAS and ACTEGA. In terms of ink and graphic arts, ECKART is an industry leader in metallic inks and pigments, and ACTEGA has a strong presence in packaging inks, overprint varnishes and coatings.
ALTANA had a record sales year in 2022, breaking the $3 billion mark and closing the year at €3.021 billion, up 13% from 2021 and an increase of nearly 40% in the last two years. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were above the average of the previous years, at €452 million, but 6% below the figure for 2021 due to high material, energy, and freight costs. The EBITDA margin was 15 percent due to inflation and therefore below the long-term target range.
“In spite of all the challenges, ALTANA once again completed a successful year in 2022,” said Martin Babilas, CEO of ALTANA AG, in announcing the results. “The past year once again made two qualities of the entire ALTANA team clear: Our company is highly resilient even in very turbulent times, primarily due to our financial and innovative strength as well as our flexible and customer-oriented positioning. Secondly, we not only react to external factors of influence, but actively make important contributions to meeting the great challenges of our time, first and foremost climate change.”
On the graphics arts and ink side, ECKART recorded sales of €397 million, or 4% growth, while ACTEGA sales were up 20%, at €555 million.
In a significant move, ACTEGA announced plans to open a new 238,000 square foot facility in Kings Mountain, NC, which will bring together four existing facilities located in North Carolina and Indiana. The new facility will occupy twice the space of ACTEGA’s four locations in North America combined, and is set to open in Q2 2024.
The new facility will offer a state-of-the-art pigment dispersions process, manufacturing of metal decorating inks, production of indirect food contact printing inks and direct food contact barrier coatings.
“This new production site will become an important part of ACTEGA’s global infrastructure with expanded manufacturing capabilities in North Carolina and New Jersey in North America while allowing us to leverage advanced technologies and increase our capacity significantly to meet the growing demand for our products and solutions,” said Andrei Sotkeviciene, recently appointed resident of ACTEGA North America, in announcing the plans.
ALTANA spends 7% of its revenue on R&D, leading to new technologies such as ACTGreen Barrier Coatings, ECOLEAF and Signite, which are both sustainable and successful. ECOLEAF is a sustainable metallization technology that significantly reduces economic barriers, such as material and waste, and offers increased production flexibility compared to today’s conventional processes that are mainly foil-based.
“We have continued to invest in new technologies,” an ALTANA spokesperson noted. “ACTEGA as an example further invested in ECOLEAF and Signite and has achieved its goals focused on supporting their development and adoption. As a result, ECOLEAF market adoption accelerated in 2022 with multiple installations across Europe. Initial calculations from our Life Cycle Assessment find that ECOLEAF can achieve a carbon footprint reduction of more than 50 percent compared to cold and hot foil processes. Signite enables brands to achieve more from their product decorations.”
“Sustainability is at the core of our business,” the ALTANA spokesperson noted. “ALTANA’s division ACTEGA wants to make the packaging industry even more sustainable. As such, our focus on reducing our impact on the planet, both from a company perspective and a wider, product and industry point of view, combined with our drive to support long-term success for brands and customers, gives us clear direction.
“As an example, multi-layer substrates have typically been used as a barrier for packaging,” they continued. “However, the poor recyclability of these materials is a major drawback. The above-mentioned substrates are increasingly falling into disrepute and are subject to ever more comprehensive regulations. At the same time, the legal requirements for recycling or disposing of such production materials pose a major challenge for many processing companies. As a sustainable alternative, ACTEGA has developed ACTGreen Barrier Coatings, which include both water-based barrier coatings and aqueous TPE dispersions as coating or binder systems for various applications and end uses. These products are demonstrably sustainable, meeting upcoming regulatory requirements related to packaging waste and recyclability.
ALTANA anticipates continued growth in 2023, with new technologies leading the way.
“You will certainly see a further demonstration of our longstanding commitment to innovation, adding value to our customers’ businesses and the wider industry,” the spokesperson concluded. “Additionally, we will make further advances in our aim to create a circular ecosystem and reduce our climate impact. To give just one example: ALTANA’s division ACTEGA has already made significant progress by using its own electricity and heat from renewable sources. With the right mindset and resources at hand, 2023 is shaping up to be an exciting year.”
