Current News

The four students Milan von dem Bussche, Simon Kolb, Noel Lieder, and Claas Vietor were awarded the ALTANA Special Prize in Chemistry at the JUGEND GRÜNDET 2022 national finals. On June 21-22, 2022, the ten best teams of the 2021-22 competition year competed in Stuttgart for the overall victory in the nationwide student competition.

•15 million euros invested at Wesel site
•Specially developed digital technology in use
•New freedom for creative work strengthens innovative power

• Sales up 22 percent on the previous year
• EBITDA margin of 18 percent within long-term target range
• Setting new standards in innovation, climate protection, and digitalization

• Outstanding material properties: Cubic Ink® resin-based printing material families for end-use applications with high heat resistance, toughness, and flexibility, among other properties
• Adaptation to any resin-based 3D printing process: The resins’ low viscosity and stability make it possible to print with high resolution and productively
• Two Cubic Ink® product families for resin 3D printing: high performance and prototyping

BYK has launched a new additive portfolio for home care applications.

The so-called PURABYK additives offer innovative solutions for detergents and cleaning agents as well as a wide range of additives for care purposes.

• Outstanding precision: Industry-grade Cubic Ink® printing material families, including unprecedented heat resistance for manufacturer-independent use on 3D inkjet printers
• Multi–material capability for maximum productivity: A wide variety of printing materials can be processed using the continuous Multi–material Jetting process
• Three Cubic Ink® ink families: High Performance, Prototyping, and Support Materials

The subject of sustainability in product development has enjoyed a high status in almost all areas of the economy for several years. In addition to the product's direct properties and effects, questions related to environmental impact, chemical basis and energy consumption frequently also play a significant role.

• Jan Franz Allerkamp to lead ACTEGA’s Paper and Board Business Line
• Stephan Plenz appointed as interim General Manager of ACTEGA Metal Print

These days, a world without plastic products is inconceivable. Regardless of whether they are in automobiles, floor coverings, wind turbines, or toothbrushes – plastics are useful everyday companions for us humans.

ALTANA achieved double-digit growth in the first half of 2021. In the first six months of the year, the specialty chemicals group’s sales rose by 24 percent to 1,334 million euros compared to the same period of the previous year (1,078 million euros), which was significantly influenced by the coronavirus pandemic.

Every year, the ALTANA Innovation Award honors the most promising new developments of the global specialty chemicals group. In 2021, the ECKART division won the prize for the second time in a row.

Specialty chemicals company ALTANA has received a credit line from the European Investment Bank (EIB). The company, headquartered in Wesel, Germany, will be able to use up to €200 million for research and development over the next ten years.

ALTANA focuses on sustainability: The specialty chemicals company has secured a new revolving credit facility (a credit line with a maximum amount for a defined term) from an international banking consortium. This provides ALTANA with 250 million euros over the next five to seven years, which the Group can draw on as needed, for example for growth projects or investments.

• Acquisition of technologies and customer relationships
• Integration into ACTEGA division
• In particular, expansion of PVC-free solutions

• World’s largest and most versatile Flexshuttle facility naugurated
• Significant time-to-market advantage for customers
• BYK doubles capacity in application technology
• Ca. 15-million-euro investment

• Sales of 2,178 million euros, 3 percent below the previous year’s level
• ACTEGA division grows by 9 percent
• EBITDA increases by 2 percent to 426 million euros
• Research and development spending remains at a high level
• CO2 footprint reduced by 50 percent
• Forecast for 2021: growth in the course of economic recovery

The specialty chemicals group ALTANA has completed the acquisition of the business of TLS Technik GmbH & Co. Spezialpulver KG, thus strategically expanding its ECKART division. TLS, based in Bitterfeld, Germany, has more than 25 years of experience and is one of the leading international specialists in the production of high‑quality metal powders for industrial 3D printing.

ACTEGA FoodSafe product range awarded Gold level Material Health Certificate by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute.

As first specialty chemicals manufacturer worldwide, BYK now has in its portfolio an additive with Germanischer Lloyd certification: BYK-C 8001. This means manufacturers of wind turbines can use the polymer coupling agent without further testing in their glass fiber reinforced epoxy resin systems – an important element in resource efficiency on the globally booming market for wind power.

Dr. Christian Przybyla (51) will become Chairman of the Management Board of ECKART GmbH, based in Hartenstein near Nuremberg, Germany, on March 1, 2021, and will thus also take over the global management of ECKART, one of the four divisions of the specialty chemicals group ALTANA.

• Expansion of ALTANA’s ECKART division with innovative solutions for metal-based 3D printing
• Acquisition of the business of the internationally leading TLS Technik GmbH & Co. Spezialpulver KG with high-performance metal powders for 3D printing
• Acquisition of the British specialist AMT for alloy development in 3D printing and its patented special alloy A20X for lightweight components

• Sales decrease by nearly 7 percent to 1,078 million euros
• EBITDA margin reaches 18.7 percent
• Company continues to invest in the future; worldwide conversion to CO2-neutral power supply already implemented
• Forecast for the year as a whole: single-digit decline in sales

A research team from ALTANA’s ECKART division has won this year’s Innovation Award of the globally active specialty chemicals group.

Dr. Matthias L. Wolfgruber new Chairman - The Supervisory Board of the specialty chemicals group ALTANA has reconstituted itself. The Supervisory Board elected Dr. Matthias L. Wolfgruber, who has been a member of the Supervisory Board of ALTANA AG since March 2016, as its new chairman.

Dr. Tammo Boinowitz (53) will become managing director of BYK-Chemie GmbH based in Wesel as of January 1, 2021. After a two-month training and transitional phase, he will also become the President of BYK, the largest division of the specialty chemicals group ALTANA.

• Sales of € 2,249 million, nearly 3 percent below the strong level of the previous year
• EBITDA reaches € 416 million
• Research and development expanded further, R&D expenditure increased by 7 percent
• High investments in international sites and digitization

The specialty chemicals group ALTANA has completed the acquisition of the overprint varnish specialist Schmid Rhyner AG, which was previously part of the Swiss Conzzeta Group.

• Investment: around EUR2 million
• Administration, production and R&D on 12,000 square meters
• Commissioning of ultra-modern 500 square meter laboratory

• By 2025 the specialty chemicals group will reduce its CO2 impact from production and energy procurement to zero worldwide
• Complete conversion to green electricity already in 2020
• Call for significant strengthening of renewable energies

ELANTAS, a division of the specialty chemicals group ALTANA, is acquiring the wire enamels activities of Hubergroup India and thus growing its business in India.