With "Sustainability at the Heart", Hempel Aims to Double Revenue by 2025

Hempel announced an ambitious strategy to double its revenue by 2025, with a strong focus on innovation and digitalization.

Hempel has faced its fair number of challenges over its 105 year history, with COVID-19 and the year 2020 presenting historic challenges in the global supply of coatings. Hempel is taking the opportunity to devise and enact a new strategy on how to focus the company over the next five years, aiming to double revenue through refocused geographical priorities, focused segment leadership positions and M&A, while at the same time accelerating on sustainability, innovation and digitalization.

“When the world closed down in 2020 and global operations including ours were challenged, we sped up our strategy process," said Lars Petersson, Group President & CEO. "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.”

Hempel aims to achieve its objective through both acquisitions and organic growth as well as ambitious investments in sustainability, innovation and digitalization, expecting 50 percent of revenue growth to come from M&A, but with a clear-cut emphasis on building market leadership positions in specific areas of our four chosen segments: Decorative, Marine, Infrastructure and Energy. 

By 2025, Hempel expects more than 50 percent of itsrevenue to come from sub segments and geographies where it has a leading position, compared to less than 10 percent 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," said Petersson. "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.".

Amongst specific targets, Hempel aims to be carbon neutral in own operations by 2025, while helping to reduce the carbon footprint of its 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," said Petersson. "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."