When companies are acquired, a key question is how to integrate the respective brands. Keeping more than one organization has advantages, but it can also slow down service and R&D.

With annual sales of more than €1.95 billion ($2.37 billion) in 2014, Altana is one of the world’s largest chemical companies. With sales of €332.1 million ($404 million) in 2014, Actega Coatings & Sealants – one of four Altana divisions – is a global leader in the areas of specialty coatings, printing inks, adhesives and sealants.

Over the years, Actega has added a variety of industry leaders throughout the world. In North America alone, the company added Kelstar International in 2005, Rad-Cure Corporation (2006) and Water Ink Technologies (WIT) in (2009). Rad-Cure was integrated into WIT, and Kelstar and WIT have been separate subsidiaries since.

With an eye on improving its customer-facing structure, Altana announced the merger of the two entities to form Actega North America, Inc. The goal is to reposition the company’s focus on market segments and improve the customer service experience.

“To develop into a stronger company that can serve customers better, we decided to set up regional entities,” says Mark Westwell, president and CEO, Actega North America, Inc. “By integrating Actega WIT and Actega Kelstar, we are forming our Actega North America regional hub, where we can share technology transfer and business development activities to the benefit of our customers.

“The feedback so far has been positive,” he adds. “Our customers understand what we are trying to do, and this will allow us to continue to improve the customer experience with even more focused innovation programs.”

Actega North America’s focus is on a wide range of markets, including narrow web labels; paperboard, rigid and flexible packaging; publication and commercial printing; and closures for packaging. Actega North America’s product offerings already include pressure sensitive adhesives, shrink sleeves and in-mold label technology, as well as UV, UV LED and EB curing solutions. The hub concept facilitates a rapid expansion into adjacent market segments and product technologies.

One key driver for the merger is customer service and market focus, which includes transferring technology more freely between the 11 Actega companies worldwide.

“We see economies of scale and faster service, which can be significant differentiators,” Westwell notes. “In some cases, Actega WIT and Actega Kelstar representatives were serving some of the same customers.”

Altana’s stated goal is to have a leading position in every market it serves, and Westwell believes this move will help to achieve this mission.

“From a holistic business perspective, we want to be leading in everything we do,” he says. “We seek over-proportional market growth, and believe we can be the best business partner for our customers.  As an example, we have joint development agreements with multiple leading printers, converters, designers and brand owners.”

The ability to share R&D efforts is a major benefit of this merger. “We have an innovation driven business, which is demonstrated by Altana’s commitment to R&D,” Westwell says. “Altana reinvests about 6% of annual sales in research and development, and we also leverage the competencies of other Altana sister divisions, such as BYK and Eckart.”

Digital technologies are making gains in the printing field, and Westwell notes that Actega is investing in this growth segment.

“We recognize that the traditional printing markets are impacted by digital and we participate strongly in the digital arena through our coatings technology,” says Westwell. “We have invested in our global digital platform and have R&D chemists in North America and Europe, focused exclusively on digital.”

Westwell says that Altana sees opportunities to bring Actega North America’s technology to the rest of the world.

“Overall, global growth is a significant opportunity for us,” he concludes. “We have sizable market share across several market segments in North America, and through our technology and knowhow transfer between regions, we expect to grow our market share throughout the rest of the world.”


David Savastano is editor of Ink World magazine, a sister publication of L&NW.