07.21.21
Abelstraße 43
46483 Wesel, Germany
Tel: +49 281 670-8
www.altana.com
E-mail: info@altana.com
Sales: More than $390 million in printing ink and graphic arts coatings sales (Ink World estimate); €2.178 billion overall.
Major Products: Metallic inks and pigments; UV and water-based inks and coatings.
Key Personnel: Martin Babilas, CEO; Stefan Genten, member of the Management Board; Dr. Christoph Schlünken, member of the Management Board; Dr. Tammo Boinowitz, president Division BYK, chairman of the Management Board BYK-Chemie GmbH; Dr. Christian Przybyla, president Division ECKART, chairman of the Management Board ECKART GmbH; Dr. Guido Forstbach, president Division ELANTAS, chairman of the Management Board ELANTAS GmbH; Thorsten Kröller, president Division ACTEGA, chairman of the Management Board ACTEGA GmbH.
Number of Employees: 6,529 as of Dec. 31, 2020.
Comments: In spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, ALTANA had a solid year, with sales essentially remaining flat while the company emphasized the safety of its employees.
“Our top priority in 2020 was to protect our 6,500 colleagues worldwide. On this basis, we once again succeeded in demonstrating ALTANA’s characteristic customer proximity in spite of physical distance,” said Martin Babilas, CEO of ALTANA AG. “Despite the challenges of the pandemic, ALTANA recorded only a slight decline in sales in the 2020 fiscal year. Indeed, in a year-to-year comparison, it actually saw an increase in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), with sales reaching €2,178 million - just 3% below the 2019 level.
“The business results also show how deeply ALTANA’s innovative solutions are anchored into the lives of many people,” Babilas added. “While demand in some segments, for example, in the automotive sector, declined significantly due to the pandemic, consumer-oriented and sustainable solutions from ALTANA increased in importance and sales.”
In particular, ALTANA’s ACTEGA division achieved significant growth in 2020 compared to 2019, increasing sales by 9% to €391 million.
“To achieve that, ACTEGA benefitted from a shift in consumer behavior towards more sustainable solutions, which included increased demand for products like our recently launched ACTGreen Barrier Coatings,” said Thorsten Kröller, president Division ACTEGA. “Reinventing recyclability in packaging production and end-product recycling, the ACTGreen Barrier Coatings range provides an effective, sustainable alternative to traditional plastic PE laminates, delivering the cost efficiencies and performance levels that brands have been seeking - especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
In 2020, ALTANA continued to invest in innovation which saw one of its start-up businesses, ACTEGA Metal Print, take a major step forward in the commercialization of EcoLeaf, its sustainable and cost-effective metallization technology. Despite the pandemic, EcoLeaf successfully went into beta at six print houses in Europe, receiving some amazing customer feedback.
In addition, Signite, another start-up business within the ACTEGA Group, also made good progress in 2020, advancing its breakthrough technology for sustainable labels. Depending on the decoration design, the technology can currently reduce label waste by more than 50%.
“This technology has the potential to revolutionize the label industry,” Kröller said. “Signite is a premium quality label decorating solution, designed to significantly reduce, and one day eliminate, waste in label production. It promises to be truly transformative, set to unlock a profitable and sustainable future for a number of markets.”
Kröller noted that raw materials remain a concern for ALTANA and for industry in general.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, raw materials remained very volatile, impacting results in different ways,” he observed. “In 2021, both the availability and pricing of raw materials is and remains a major challenge for the whole industry.”
Kröller said that 2021 has started well, and ALTANA is currently on track to meet its business targets.
“In part, this is a result of the coronavirus pandemic being further contained and the global economy recovering, which has increased business and consumer confidence,” he continued. “However, it is also because, as mentioned, many of our solutions are delivering what our customers need today - increased efficiencies, increased performance and improved sustainability. Of course, we hope and expect this trend to continue throughout the year. However, the availability of raw materials and cost development will negatively impact business coming back to normal.
“Our outlook for the remainder of the year is in general positive,” Kröller added. “ALTANA expects the coronavirus pandemic to be further contained in the current year and the global economy to recover as a result. In this environment, the company forecasts operating sales growth in the low to mid-single-digit percentage range with a lower EBITDA margin compared to 2020.”
46483 Wesel, Germany
Tel: +49 281 670-8
www.altana.com
E-mail: info@altana.com
Sales: More than $390 million in printing ink and graphic arts coatings sales (Ink World estimate); €2.178 billion overall.
Major Products: Metallic inks and pigments; UV and water-based inks and coatings.
Key Personnel: Martin Babilas, CEO; Stefan Genten, member of the Management Board; Dr. Christoph Schlünken, member of the Management Board; Dr. Tammo Boinowitz, president Division BYK, chairman of the Management Board BYK-Chemie GmbH; Dr. Christian Przybyla, president Division ECKART, chairman of the Management Board ECKART GmbH; Dr. Guido Forstbach, president Division ELANTAS, chairman of the Management Board ELANTAS GmbH; Thorsten Kröller, president Division ACTEGA, chairman of the Management Board ACTEGA GmbH.
Number of Employees: 6,529 as of Dec. 31, 2020.
Comments: In spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, ALTANA had a solid year, with sales essentially remaining flat while the company emphasized the safety of its employees.
“Our top priority in 2020 was to protect our 6,500 colleagues worldwide. On this basis, we once again succeeded in demonstrating ALTANA’s characteristic customer proximity in spite of physical distance,” said Martin Babilas, CEO of ALTANA AG. “Despite the challenges of the pandemic, ALTANA recorded only a slight decline in sales in the 2020 fiscal year. Indeed, in a year-to-year comparison, it actually saw an increase in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), with sales reaching €2,178 million - just 3% below the 2019 level.
“The business results also show how deeply ALTANA’s innovative solutions are anchored into the lives of many people,” Babilas added. “While demand in some segments, for example, in the automotive sector, declined significantly due to the pandemic, consumer-oriented and sustainable solutions from ALTANA increased in importance and sales.”
In particular, ALTANA’s ACTEGA division achieved significant growth in 2020 compared to 2019, increasing sales by 9% to €391 million.
“To achieve that, ACTEGA benefitted from a shift in consumer behavior towards more sustainable solutions, which included increased demand for products like our recently launched ACTGreen Barrier Coatings,” said Thorsten Kröller, president Division ACTEGA. “Reinventing recyclability in packaging production and end-product recycling, the ACTGreen Barrier Coatings range provides an effective, sustainable alternative to traditional plastic PE laminates, delivering the cost efficiencies and performance levels that brands have been seeking - especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
In 2020, ALTANA continued to invest in innovation which saw one of its start-up businesses, ACTEGA Metal Print, take a major step forward in the commercialization of EcoLeaf, its sustainable and cost-effective metallization technology. Despite the pandemic, EcoLeaf successfully went into beta at six print houses in Europe, receiving some amazing customer feedback.
In addition, Signite, another start-up business within the ACTEGA Group, also made good progress in 2020, advancing its breakthrough technology for sustainable labels. Depending on the decoration design, the technology can currently reduce label waste by more than 50%.
“This technology has the potential to revolutionize the label industry,” Kröller said. “Signite is a premium quality label decorating solution, designed to significantly reduce, and one day eliminate, waste in label production. It promises to be truly transformative, set to unlock a profitable and sustainable future for a number of markets.”
Kröller noted that raw materials remain a concern for ALTANA and for industry in general.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, raw materials remained very volatile, impacting results in different ways,” he observed. “In 2021, both the availability and pricing of raw materials is and remains a major challenge for the whole industry.”
Kröller said that 2021 has started well, and ALTANA is currently on track to meet its business targets.
“In part, this is a result of the coronavirus pandemic being further contained and the global economy recovering, which has increased business and consumer confidence,” he continued. “However, it is also because, as mentioned, many of our solutions are delivering what our customers need today - increased efficiencies, increased performance and improved sustainability. Of course, we hope and expect this trend to continue throughout the year. However, the availability of raw materials and cost development will negatively impact business coming back to normal.
“Our outlook for the remainder of the year is in general positive,” Kröller added. “ALTANA expects the coronavirus pandemic to be further contained in the current year and the global economy to recover as a result. In this environment, the company forecasts operating sales growth in the low to mid-single-digit percentage range with a lower EBITDA margin compared to 2020.”