2020 has been a year of transition for global coatings supplier, Hempel. While still securing paint and coatings supply globally in a challenging COVID-19 year and developing core business areas, a new strategy on how to focus the 105-year-old company has taken shape. Now defined as within the next five years, Hempel will double revenue through refocused geographical priorities, focused segment leadership positions and M&A, while at the same time accelerating on sustainability, innovation and digitalisation, says Group President & CEO, Lars Petersson:

“When the world closed down in 2020 and global operations including ours were challenged, we sped up our strategy process. Now we have laid the foundation for not only doubling our revenue but also for significantly increasing our positive impact for our customers, partners and employees. We will build leadership positions and invest in our core segments and put sustainability at the heart of how we do business.”

The strategy will be realised through both acquisitions and organic growth as well as ambitious investments in sustainability, innovation and digitalisation. Hempel expects 50 per cent of revenue growth to come from M&A but the strategy also has a clear-cut emphasis on building market leadership positions in specific areas of our four chosen segments: Decorative, Marine, Infrastructure and Energy. By 2025, we expect more than 50 per cent of our revenue to come from sub segments and geographies where we have a leading position, compared to less than 10 per cent today.

“We have been spread too thin and too shallow and therefore we focus our business by exiting some geographies by own operation and strengthening others. Alongside that we know that our customers need suppliers with end-to-end solutions and a deep knowledge and impact on the market. Based on this, we have started a transformation of how we sell and develop by building even stronger partnerships with a number of customers to truly understand their needs, future challenges and to co-create differentiated solutions,” says Lars Petersson.

The new strategy sets ambitious goals on sustainability such as being carbon neutral in own operations by 2025 and also reducing the carbon footprint of our customers. To ensure a rigorous, scientific and well-documented approach to becoming a sustainability leader within the coatings industry, we have committed to science-based targets. The sustainability framework will be launched in February 2021.

“Putting sustainability at the heart of how we do business will drive change both within Hempel and across our value chain through our products and services. We see sustainability as a key enabler for growth, by helping our costumers reaching their sustainability targets. Our target to double in size in the next five years makes our commitment to sustainability even more important, and we are ready to make some bold decisions as we accelerate,” says Lars Petersson.