02. AkzoNobel
Amersterdam, the Netherlands
www.akzonobel.com
PUBLIC COMPANY; YEAR ESTABLISHED: 1994
REVENUE: $10.66 billion t (2015: $10.925 billion)
MARKETS SERVED
Decorative paints; Marine and protective coatings; Auto and specialty coatings; Industrial
and powder coatings
KEY EXECUTIVES
Ton Büchner, chairman and CEO; Maëlys Castella, CFO; Ruud Joosten, executive committee
member, Decorative Paints; Conrad Keijzer, executive committee member, Performance
Coatings; Werner Führmann, executive committee member, Specialty Chemicals managing
directors: Oscar Wezenbeek (marine coatings); John Wolff (powder coatings); Alberto
Slikta (specialty coatings); AB Ghosh (metal coatings); Mauricio Bannwart (protective
coatings); Simon Parker (vehicles refinishes); Volkan Goran (wood coatings); Roger
Jakeman (performance coatings); Klaas Kruithof (Performance Coatings – RD&I director);
Jaap Kuiper, Decorative Paints managing director – LATAM; Lin Lianqi, Decorative Paints
managing director – China and North Asia; Amit Jain, Decorative Paints managing director
– North West Europe; Jan-Piet van Kesteren, Decorative Paints managing director – Eastern
Europe & Africa; Jeremy Rowe, Decorative Paints managing director – South East & South
Asia, Middle East; David Menko, Decorative Paints global marketing director; Trudy
Schoolenberg, Decorative Paints global supply chain and R&D director.
AkzoNobel is active in the fields of decorative paints, per- formance coatings and specialty chemicals and employs approximately 45,600 people (including its Specialty Chemicals business) in more than 80 countries. Mature Europe comprises
36 percent of the company’s revenue, Asia Pacific 27 percent, North
America 17 percent, Latin America 10 percent, emerging Europe 7
percent and other countries 3 percent.
“In a year of record profitability in terms of return on sales and
return on investment, our purpose of creating everyday essentials to
make people’s lives more liveable and inspiring was brought to life,”
“As well as introducing a series of innovative new
products, we began to advance our digital agenda
and made important steps with regard to sustain-
ability, setting us up to accelerate organic growth. Our expanding
Human Cities initiative – everything we do for and with society –
also continued to impact millions of people around the world.
In 2016, AkzoNobel led the creation of the Human Cities Co-
alition, a public-private partnership of Dutch organizations from
government, NGOs and business, it’s focused on contributing to
Goal 11 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Sustainable cit-
ies and communities.
Expanded R&D in the U.S.
AkzoNobel has completed the €2.6 million ($3.5 million) expansion
of its U.S. research and development facilities in Houston, Texas.
Carried out in phases over a period of three years, the investment in the site - which employs around 40 scientists - will support
the company’s Protective Coatings, Marine Coatings and Specialty
Coatings businesses.
Part of AkzoNobel’s ongoing investments in its global RD&I
activities, the Houston upgrade follows an investment of € 12. 6 million in a research and innovation hub in Felling, UK, announced
earlier this year.
Additional capabilities at the facility include a dedicated area
for experimental paint making, a modern paint application laboratory and environmentally controlled drying areas for conditioning
of test panels. Enhanced chemical resistance testing equipment is
also available to support the Ceilcote and Enviroline lining ranges
in North America.
AkzoNobel is in the process of reviewing strategic options for the
separation of its Specialty Chemicals business.
The Specialty Chemicals business, which had revenues of € 4. 8
billion in 2016, is strongly positioned with a broad portfolio of
leading technologies and chemicals which service a wide range of
end-user segments including construction, industrial and consumer
goods. The separation will allow the Specialty Chemicals business to
continue to build and accelerate its market-leading positions across
a range of market segments.
As part of the separation, AkzoNobel will consider various
alternative ownership structures for the Specialty Chemicals
business including, but not limited to, the establishment of an
independent listed entity. The ultimate structure will be determined by reference to shareholder value maximization as well as
broader stakeholder considerations.
The company announced that the decision was brought forward
following confirmation that AkzoNobel has rejected an unsolicited,
non-binding and conditional proposal from PPG Industries Inc. for
all of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares in the capital of
AkzoNobel. PPG’s proposal substantially undervalues AkzoNobel
and is not in the interest of its stakeholders, including its shareholders, customers and employees.
“Our Specialty Chemicals business is an industry leader in many
of the markets in which it operates and we are extremely proud
of its heritage, performance and people,” said Büchner. “We are
reviewing strategic options to separate it from the company to cre-
ate focus for both Specialty Chemicals and the Decorative Paints
and Performance Coatings group, allowing them to build further on
their respective leadership positions.”
“As stated at our full-year results announcement in February, we
are now a leaner, more agile company with a solid financial and op-
erational foundation and a focus on growth. AkzoNobel has enjoyed
a record performance in recent years in terms of profitability and has
made significant strategic progress, allowing us to take this decision.”
Ton Büchner
