MOSCOW (MRC) -- At its last meeting the Supervisory Board of Evonik Industries AG, the German speciality chemicals group, unanimously passed resolutions relating to the successful focusing of the group on specialty chemicals and its future growth targets, reported the company on its site.
Over the past five years Evonik has been restructured from an integrated conglomerate to a listed specialty chemicals company. Following the refocusing of the business, the next step is to consolidate management and administrative processes.
Within the Executive Board, operational responsibility for the entire specialty chemicals business will therefore be transferred to Patrik Wohlhauser (49) as of January 1, 2014. Dr. Thomas Haeberle (57) and Dr. Dahai Yu (52) will be leaving the company by amicable and mutual agreement effective December 31, 2013.
Further, Evonik's Supervisory Board unanimously welcomed the Executive Board's decision to undertake extensive streamlining of group-wide administrative structures. In many respects, the present administrative functions still reflect the needs of Evonik's former structure as a conglomerate.
Moreover, administrative expenses are now approximately 26% higher than they were in 2008. Evonik therefore intends to extend the progress made in the operating units through the On Track and On Track 2.0 efficiency enhancement programs to its administrative organization. The goal is to make cost savings of up to EUR250 million a year by the end of 2016.
The planned restructuring of the administrative functions will result in savings in material and personnel expenses. The related job cuts will be achieved in a socially compatible manner in close collaboration with representatives of the workforce and the German Mining, Chemical and Energy Industrial Union (IG BCE). The scope and nature of the necessary measures will be examined in the coming months. Existing framework agreements, including the agreement to refrain from dismissals for operational reasons, will be extended for two years to the end of 2018.
We remind that, as MRC informed previously, Evonik Industries plans to expand its capacities for precipitated silicas worldwide by about 30 % by 2014. Besides, Evonik's new polyamide 12 line is planned to be built in Singapore by 2014 to increase the availability of this specialty plastic. The company invested over EUR100m (GBR131m) in a new hydrogen peroxide plant in Jilin, China. The plant is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2013 where it will annually produce 230,000 tons of hydrogen peroxide, which is mostly used as a bleaching agent in the textile and pulp industry. As part of the company's strategic portfolio expansion, Evonik plans to launch a new generation of PVC plasticizers. Evonik started construction of the production facilities with the estimated production capacity of 40,000 tpa at the Marl Chemical Park this summer.
Evonik Industries is an industrial corporation in Germany and one of the world's leading specialty chemicals companies. Company's specialty chemicals activities focus on high-growth megatrends, especially, health, nutrition, resource efficiency, and globalization, and on entering attractive future-oriented markets. In 2012 Evonik generated sales of EUR13.6 billion and an operating result (adjusted EBITDA) of EUR2.6 billion. The international rating agency Moody's has upgraded the credit rating of the German speciality chemicals group Evonik Industries AG from Baa3 with a positive outlook to Baa2 with a positive outlook.
MRC