Beckers
Sales: $1.15 billion
Investing in North
America through
key acquisitions
Company Facts:
AB Wilh. Becker
Bruksgarden 263 01
Hoganas, Sweden
Tel: ( 46) 42-33-85-00; Fax: ( 46) 42-33-85-15
www.becker.se
• 2007 SALES REVENUE: $1.15 billion
(2006 SALES: $1 billion)
• KEY PERSONNEL: Ulf G. Lindén, chairman
and CEO; Magnus Lindstam, managing director;
Ralph Kabalo, key manager, Becker Industrial
Coatings; Michael Henderson, key manager,
ColArt; Aled Roberts, key manager, Becker
Powder Coatings; and Kaj Brandt, key manager,
Becker Acroma.
• MAJOR PRODUCTS: Industrial and coil coatings, wood finishes, powder coatings and artists
materials.
• 2007 ACQUISITIONS: Specialty Coatings in
the U.S.
Ab Wilh. Becker is wholly owned
by Lindengruppen AB and is
divided into four business areas.
Becker Industrial Coatings is Europe’s
leading manufacturer of coil coatings
and liquid special coatings for metal and
plastic. Becker Powder Coatings is a
major manufacturer of powder coatings
in Europe and North America. Becker
Acroma is Europe’s leading manufacturer of paints, lacquers and stains for
industrial finishing of wood products.
Lastly, ColArt is the world’s leading producer of artists’ materials for professional and amateur artists. Becker
Group posted sales of approximately
$1.15 billion in 2007.
Markets outside Sweden account for
more than 93% of the Becker Group’s
sales. The largest individual markets
are France, North America and the
UK, while Euope as a whole is responsible for 73% of group sales. However,
the internationalization of the company is continuing through organic
growth and acquisitions. The group’s
most rapid growth is in Eastern
Europe and Asia. The non-European
countries around the Mediterranean
region, North Africa and the Middle
East also represent growth markets
for the group.
ACQUISITIONS IN NORTH AMERICA
Early in 2007 Becker announced that
its North American subsidiary, Becker
Industrial Coatings, acquired Specialty
Coatings Company, a manufacturer of
industrial paints and coatings.
Founded in 1953, Specialty is the
leading independent supplier of liquid
coil coatings in the U.S. and employs
80 people at two production facilities
in Chicago and Southern California.
Its products are widely used in applications that utilize coated steel and
coated aluminium substrates. Prior to
the acquisition, Specialty was owned
by the Neems family.
“Specialty’s strong position in the
U.S. market for coil coating products
will be of great strategic value to
Beckers,” said Jenny Lindén Urnes,
chairman and CEO of AB Wilh. Becker
at the time of the acquisition. “As the
leading producer of coil coating products in Europe, and with a strong presence in Asia, Beckers looks forward to
building a platform to develop the coil
coating business in the U.S.”
Specialty has become a unit of
Becker Industrial Coatings, whose
other operations in North America
include Becker Industrial Coatings,
Inc., based in Toronto.
In a back-to-back deal announced
early in 2008 Sherwin-Williams
acquired Becker Powder Coatings in
North America while Beckers acquired
Sherwin-Williams Coil Coatings in
North America.
The coil business has been integrated into Becker Specialty Corporation, a
Chicago-based subsidiary of AB Wilh.
Becker.
Headquartered in Columbus, OH,
Becker Powder Coatings Inc. produces
powder coatings applied to appliances,
metal furniture, fixtures, equipment
and electronic products manufactured
throughout North America.
Becker Powder Coatings has more
than 45 employees and sales of approximately $14 million.
“As a leader in coil coatings, this
acquisition, following our acquisition
of Specialty Coatings Company, is
another important step in growing our
North American business,” said Urnes.
“We are excited that this enhances the
position of both Beckers and Sherwin-Williams through the sale and purchase transactions of our North
American powder and Sherwin-Williams’ coil coatings businesses
respectively.”
