03.16.23
This year’s forum includes CEOs from leading coatings companies from the U.S., Europe and Asia Pacific. The participants are Gregoire Poux-Guillaume, CEO, AkzoNobel; Uta Holzenkamp, President, BASF’s Coatings Division; Christophe Sabas, CEO, Beckers; Abhijit Roy, CEO, Berger Paints; João Serrenho, CEO, CIN; Michael Hansen, CEO, Hempel: Steve Crossman, COO, HMG Paints; Tim Knavish, CEO, PPG Industries; Chase Bean, CEO, Tnemec; Armodios Yannidis, CEO, Vitex.
CW: What are your company’s long-term plans?
AkzoNobel: Our ability to innovate will generate targeted growth opportunities for us, even in difficult markets. And we’ll focus on further boosting already strong market positions, rather than planting new flags around the world.
We also see sizable potential from reducing complexity and driving efficiencies in our day-to-day operations. This is the case in the way we approach pricing through the cycle, but also through significant opportunities to simplify and transform our supply chain, resulting in higher asset turnover. We believe this is a material value unlock.
BASF: The Coatings division of BASF will become an even more complete provider of surface solutions. In addition to our core business automotive paint, we will also focus on solutions beyond paint and digital business models to develop new markets. Our Digital Incubation Unit acts as a business model incubator. It offers an environment to ideate, prototype and scale-up innovative, digital business ideas from the area of Automotive and Surface Solutions.
And of course sustainability will stay in our focus. We will consequently together with our partners implement the next steps to achieve our Net Zero targets and to create a more sustainable future.
Beckers: Our goal is to drive growth and increase profitability and market share for Beckers through our business strategy, while achieving our net sustainable targets through our sustainability strategy.
We are measuring our company performance according to the Value Creation Model developed by our owners Lindéngruppen, which measures success not only by financial earnings but also by economic, social and environmental value and impact created, and compares and offsets the different benefits and costs.
Berger: Berger Paints is entering its centenary year of operations in the Indian market, and we are focussed on long-term plans on several key areas to ensure our continued success and growth in the industry. The areas that our long-term plans are directed at include:
- Innovation and R&D: We are investing in new and improved paint formulations, innovative products such as nano coatings and smart coatings, and new applications and delivery methods to stay ahead of the competition and meet changing customer needs.
- Sustainability: A continued focus on developing sustainable products and processes to reduce their environmental impact. Our work encompasses using environmentally friendly ingredients, reducing energy usage in manufacturing, and developing paint recycling programs.
- Customer experience: Using our suite of services from Express Painting™ to Prolinks™, we want to continue to provide a positive and seamless customer experience, from the initial sales process to the painting job itself. We are providing digital tools and platforms for customers to schedule appointments, offering colour consulting services, and providing high-quality workmanship.
- Digital transformation: A digital transformation to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance customer experience. This includes use of digital tools for colour selection, estimating, project management, scheduling, and invoicing, as well as using data analytics to understand customer behaviour and market trends.
- Talent acquisition and retention: We are focused on attracting and retaining the best talent in the industry to maintain quality workmanship and customer satisfaction. We offer a competitive compensation and benefits packages, are investing in training and development programs, and actively fostering a positive work culture.
CIN: The future is quite unpredictable in light of the current economic context. However, we can assure you that CIN is prepared to tackle this uncertainty and still achieve its objectives and goals, remaining dedicated to excellence and maintaining growth and progress.
Hempel: In line with our strategy, we want to scale our business and increase our EBITDA margin. This will allow us to invest even more in new sustainable solutions in the future and to grow without equally increasing our costs. Digitalization, operational excellence and process excellence are all key to this journey – and will come into even greater focus in 2023 and beyond.
HMG: The long-term plans have been the same since 1930, and that is to focus our efforts on the stability, performance & continuity of the good ship HMG. There is always more to do and challenges to undertake, one such challenge as summed up by one of our colleagues on the Sales Team, is that we must ensure all our customers receive the very best of the ‘HMG Experience’. We are fortunate to have such passionate & dedicated colleagues who will rise to this challenge, and the board of directors will continue to invest in our people, giving them the chance to develop professionally and personally.
PPG: At PPG, our mission is to protect and beautify the world. We will continue to do this through innovation and providing unmatched products and service to our customers, reducing our impact on the environment, and investing in our communities where we live, work and play.
Tnemec: Having recently celebrated our first centennial, Tnemec Company is in a strong position for continued growth in the years to come. We believe independent, entrepreneurial, and innovative manufacturers are vital for our industry, our local communities, and our global partners. There is a special sense of ingenuity that comes from this type of business culture that helps us attract talented new hires. We also continue to see growth by attracting business owners whose exit strategies include preservation of brands, retention of staff, and the nearest perpetuation of their independent business with like-minded management team and ownership at Tnemec.
Vitex: To maintain the leading position in architectural paints in Greece, to achieve the leading position in ETICS, while expanding abroad and scaling up our international business following the domestic growth rate. We continue serving the market by promoting good practices, creating more value for everyone along the chain and provide smart solutions for a better world. Our purpose statement: “We Create Daily Wonders, with Science, Fun and Care” invites all our partners and stakeholders along a journey of holistic improvement and long-term sustainable entrepreneurship.
