Evonik Aligns Two Business Lines With New Growth Strategy
Evonik is restructuring two business lines to improve their development potential. Coating & Adhesive Resins and Health Care will concentrate future investments on their respective core industries. The other firms outside these cores will be sold to new owners or merged into partnerships. Individual enterprises must be ended in a socially acceptable way. Businesses impacted by these changes produce a total of €350 million in sales.
“Our industry is undergoing fundamental structural change worldwide,” says Christian Kullmann, chairman of the executive board of Evonik. “We will align all our resources with our strongest businesses. Only then can we seize growth opportunities in these markets at the necessary speed. Conversely, this also means that for businesses where we cannot offer appropriate prospects at Evonik, we will implement solutions outside Evonik.”
In the future, the Health Care business line will concentrate on key growth areas: lipids for mRNA and gene treatments, medication delivery systems, and cell culture components. The manufacture of keto acids for medicinal uses in Hanau will terminate by the end of 2025. The roughly 260 impacted workers will be actively helped in their quest for other opportunities inside and outside of Evonik. Several strategic alternatives are being considered for the Ham (France) and Wuming (China) locations that are involved in the same company. In recent years, the amino and keto acids industry earned an average of €100 million in sales.
“Our amino and keto acids businesses in Ham and Wuming are strong and offer great potential,” says Caspar Gammelin, head of the Nutrition & Care division. “We are therefore not considering closing them. With investments in these sites, these businesses could reach their full potential and flourish. We are therefore examining options such as partnerships or divestments that would allow the businesses to prosper.”
The Coating & Adhesive Resins business line is being developed in a similar fashion. In the future, it will concentrate on two key growth areas: liquid polybutadienes as additives for adhesives, sealants, and tires, and specialized acrylics for medical technology and the packaging sector. The current polyolefins business, which generates around €100 million in revenue, will be moved to Evonik's C4 chain division. This will make even greater use of the existing tight supplier ties between the two operations in Marl (Germany). The firm will eventually be sold as part of the C4 chain. The polyester coatings and adhesives company is being sold to new owners. It employs around 330 people worldwide, with the majority based in Germany and China. Witten (Germany) is the biggest location, employing over 250 people. There is also a smaller facility in Shanghai with around 30 staff. The company has an annual revenue of roughly €150 million. “The technological expertise of our polyester business is extensive,” says Lauren Kjeldsen, head of the responsible division Smart Materials. “But to be successfully competing in the long term globally and to generate the necessary margins, investments are needed - and other companies for which polyester is a core business can realize these better than we can.” The search for interested parties is to begin still this year.
According to Thomas Wessel, Evonik's Chief Human Resources Officer and Labor Director: “Whether we transfer businesses to new owners or discontinue them in individual cases, we always do so in a socially responsible manner with close involvement of employee representatives. Also, when divesting businesses we have proven: We select investors carefully and always have the future of our company and the well-being of our employees firmly in mind.” Chief Executive Officer Christian Kullmann says: “The realignment of the two business lines exemplifies our approach. By concentrating on our strengths, we can unlock the growth potential that lies within our company.”
Source: Evonik

Comments