What is the biggest challenge Siegwerk will face in 2022? Nicholas Wiedemann: In general, 2022 is undoubtedly a very challenging year, full of uncertainties, which has brought a heavy blow to the development of our industry. From the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, rising raw material and utility costs, to the war in Ukraine, the economic environment is volatile and outcomes remain unpredictable.
How does Siegwerk meet these challenges and meet performance targets?
Nicholas Wiedemann: Our teams have been working hard to ensure we can continue to serve our customers, make important progress on our sustainability agenda and further expand the company's global footprint. Although we missed our full-year performance targets, we achieved important results. For example, we further strengthened our position in the European packaging market through the successful acquisition and integration of La Sorgente, one of Italy's most important suppliers of flexo inks. In addition, we have won several sustainability awards around the world. From products recognized as the best sustainable innovation, to awards for operational sustainability management, to customers developing award-winning packaging with the help of our solutions – all these recognitions show us that we We are on the right track on the road of sustainable development.
What exactly is there in India?
Nicholas Widman: India, in particular, is one of our growth regions for 2022. The team has done an excellent job delivering strong progress and growth during the crisis. For example, a local milestone was the commissioning of a dedicated solvent-based blending facility at our Bhiwadi plant in Rajasthan earlier that year. This new center complements an existing 100% toluene-free manufacturing facility to further drive local growth. Additionally, we opened a new warehouse and color matching center in Tauru (Haryana) to support the growing demand for packaging inks in the country. Being the first company in India, we are also converting our Bhiwadi factory to be 100% Mineral Oil Free by 2022 while launching the new Vega range, a Mineral Oil Free ink for food safety applications production line. This marks an important step in our sustainability journey in the region, part of our commitment to actively drive the transition to a circular economy globally. Furthermore, Siegwerk India, in cooperation with the non-profit organization Center of Excellence for Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability (CCSE), restored a pond in Daki village in Tijala (Rajasthan) to help local communities preserve natural water resources . This is just another example of our holistic sustainability journey, aimed at improving environmental and social performance in the regions where we operate.
If we look back a little bit, 2020 and 2021, they're also very volatile. Are you feeling the impact?
Nicholas Widman: The turbulent economic environment in the past two years has put all market participants under tremendous pressure. The ability to react quickly and adapt to changing circumstances has never been more important to a company then than it is now. We have therefore systematically adapted and restructured our processes to address these ongoing challenges. We make every effort to ensure that our organization and systems are optimized so that we can make better decisions faster, continue to serve our customers and support our employees around the world.
What lessons have been learned?
Nicholas Wiedemann: Today, we are able to assess all impacts on pricing, availability, logistics and relationships with suppliers in a much shorter period of time and take appropriate action much faster. In addition, we have established a backup supplier network to create a stronger global supply network and ensure that the global supply is as stable as possible. We've also established corporate and local business continuity teams that collectively monitor industries and markets across the board to anticipate potential disruptions, such as supply shortages, border closures, or disruptions to transport more broadly. All this enables us to ensure the availability of our products in the market and offer our clients competitive terms even in such a highly volatile environment. Despite various economic uncertainties, we remain focused on our objectives to continue building on our strong position in the global packaging market. We further differentiate through innovation and digitization to improve efficiency and create new business opportunities, while further investing in our infrastructure, technology and people to facilitate our future long-term growth.