Leading brand in speciality chemicals Atotech

Atotech provides the most advanced technical solutions for the world’s surface-finishing industries, through a combination of innovative chemistry and world-class equipment. Building on its leading position, the company will stay committed to innovation.

LEADING BRAND IN

SPECIALITY CHEMICALS

Atotech is a leading speciality chemicals technology company and a market leader in advanced electroplating solutions. The company delivers chemistry, equipment, software, and services for innovative technology applications through an integrated systems-and-solutions approach.

Headquartered in Berlin, Germany, Atotech employs some 4,000 experts in over 40 countries generating annual revenues of $1.2 billion (2020). The group has manufacturing operations across Europe, the Americas, and Asia. With its well-established innovative strength and industry-leading global TechCenter network, Atotech delivers pioneering solutions combined with unparalleled on-site support for over 9,000 customers worldwide.

At the forefront

Atotech provides solutions within two lines of business: Electronic and General Metal Finishing, which are used in a wide variety of end markets, including smartphones and other consumer electronics, communications infrastructure; and computing, as well as in numerous industrial and consumer applications such as automotive, heavy machinery, and household appliances.

Rigorous R&D has been the backbone of Atotech’s success. Over the years, the company has built an extensive portfolio of patents and trademarks. A large part of it consists of green and future technologies for environmentally sound processes.

Over 50 per cent of its R&D projects are devoted to sustainable goals (2020). In recent years, environmental regulations focused on the chemical industry, including REACH, ELV, and WEEE/RoHS, have gained immensely in importance. The plating industry is one of many industries to feel its direct impact. As a result, there is a growing need and demand for ecological products, creating a new set of challenges and responsibilities for every industrial sector.

“Our goal is to not only be the leading supplier of sustainable plating systems, but also to raise the standards even higher and educate industries and communities alike about the solutions available in the market today,” says Brian Daniels, Vice President R&D at Atotech Group.

Staying strong

During turbulent 2020, the group’s market position remained unshaken - the company reported fourth quarter revenue of $365 million, an increase of 18 per cent over the fourth quarter of 2019, including organic chemistry revenue growth of 5 per cent

Geoff Wild, Atotech’s Chief Executive Officer said: “We leveraged the continued strength of our Electronics end markets, as well

as the ongoing recovery in global automotive markets, to deliver strong organic growth. In particular, demand for our comprehensive solutions addressing the technical requirements related to the 5G smartphone replacement cycle, including next-generation semiconductor packaging, was robust. Other areas of strength include 5G infrastructure, automotive electrification, and growing demand for sustainable solutions in surface-finishing applications.”

“Throughout 2020, we continued to invest in our business and made decisions in the long-term best interests of our customers, while carefully managing costs. We invested in multiple digitisation initiatives, including IoT solutions, and maintained our highly trained customer-facing workforce. As we enter this high-growth period in our industry, we believe these decisions have positioned Atotech to take advantage of the many market opportunities in front of us.”

Business investment included a new state-of-the-art R&D facility, the Atotech Development Center (“ADC”) in Manesar, India. It is the largest TechCenter of its kind in India, encompassing 20,000 square metres of floor space, containing 17 fully automated plating lines and 39 high-end laboratories outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment.

The ADC serves as a global hub for Atotech’s development, testing some of the most innovative and sustainable products in the surface finishing industry. Atotech believes that its customers from

around the world will benefit from this investment through faster product cycle times and a dedicated focus on delivering and supporting some of the most comprehensive surface finishing solutions in the industry.

Continued expansion

Investment in global expansion is set to continue. In March 2021, the company announced that its recently completed production site in Yangzhou, China, is now fully operational. The facility is Atotech’s second chemical plant in China.

The state-of-the-art facility houses 14 production vessels with a production capacity of 27,000 tonnes per year and is equipped with modern production features such as a Manufacturing Execution System and Auto-Stop-Filling mechanisms, which ensure the highest quality standards.

At the Yangzhou site, Atotech has successfully adopted a new approach for waste-water treatment, which is a combination of precipitation, evaporation, and biological treatment. Discharge amounts in this new process are significantly below industry levels. Atotech’s global waste management procedures are designed to protect the environment, the employees, and the local communities.

Geoff Wild said: “The Yangzhou chemical plant is a major milestone in expanding our business in Asia. It will be an important supply hub for our customers in East China and will further strengthen our overall competitiveness in our largest geographic market, China, and beyond.”

He added that the company expects full-year 2021 total organic revenue growth to be in the range of 10 per cent to 12 per cent This strong outlook is driven by constructive end markets in both the Electronics and GMF segments. n