One of my favorite feature articles is our Annual CEO Forum. It gives our readers unique insight into the state of our industry straight from the source. This year’s forum includes CEOs from leading coatings companies from the U.S., Europe and Asia Pacific. The participants are Uta Holzenkamp, president, BASF’s Coatings Division; Dan Calkins, CEO, Benjamin Moore; Abhijit Roy, CEO, Berger Paints; Michael Hansen, CEO, Hempel: Steve Crossman, COO, HMG Paints; Julien Molina, CEO, Mäder Group; Claudio Rodriguez, CEO, Sinteplast and Armodios Yannidis, CEO, Vitex.

This year we welcome two news participants to the Forum:
• Julian Molina, CEO, Mäder Group. Founded in 1993, Mäder Group is a privately held paint and coatings leader headquartered in Villeneuve d’Ascq, France. The company reported $210 million in sales in 2023 and ranked 56 in our 2024 Top Companies Report.
• Claudio Rodriguez, CEO, Sinteplast. Founded in 1958, Sinteplast SA, is a privately held company headquartered in Argentina. The company reported sales of $255 million in 2023.

Effect of Proposed Tariffs

With the inauguration of Donald Trump for his second term as president and the administration’s proposal of tariffs on a wide variety of goods imminent, one of the major questions on industry leaders minds is how those tariffs will impact raw material pricing and availability.

Key Takeaways:
Uta Holzenkamp, president, BASF’s Coatings Division: Local production is essential to BASF’s strategy worldwide. In the United States, the vast majority of our sales come from products manufactured in the country. This focus on local production for the local market underscores our commitment to the U.S. economy and workforce and ensures that we meet customer needs with locally produced goods.

Michael Hansen, CEO, Hempel: Trade policy developments always have the potential to impact our business, particularly working with industries such as energy and infrastructure. While proposed tariffs could create cost and supply chain challenges, we have built a resilient business model that enables us to adapt swiftly. We continue to work closely with our suppliers, customers and industry partners to ensure that any impact is mitigated while maintaining the high performance and sustainability of our products.