gtxinvesting.com

Menu

a

1) When the programme was introduced — timeline

  • May 23, 2024 — AkzoNobel publicly announced the start of a multi-year industrial efficiency / optimisation programme and disclosed the intention to close several manufacturing sites (initially Groot-Ammers (NL), Cork (IE) and Lusaka (ZM)). The company framed this as the first part of a multi-year plan to be finalised by end-2026. akzonobel.com+1

  • Jan 29, 2025 — Management updated targets and scope: CEO/CFO commentary flagged accelerated actions (additional site closures and increased headcount reduction target) to deliver larger annualised savings. Reuters and other outlets reported the company expected to close at least five more sites in 2025. Reuters

  • Q2 2025 (Investor Update / Q2 report, July 2025) — The official investor update states the industrial programme is “ahead of plan” and that 5 site closures had been announced YTD — 3 in EMEA and 2 in Canada (consultations in progress; further announcements expected). akzonobel.com+1

2) Why AkzoNobel said the programme was needed (drivers / rationale)

Company commentary and media reporting cite several, related drivers for the industrial programme:

  • Reduce complexity and concentrate scale — focus production on larger “anchor” sites that deliver better economies of scale and free capacity for innovation. This was a core rationale in the May-2024 announcement. akzonobel.com

  • Cost savings / margin improvement — management set savings targets (initially tied to cuts and footprint optimisation) to protect profitability in a softer end-market environment. Reuters and company commentary quantified material annualised savings from restructuring. Reuters

  • Respond to weak end markets & customer destocking — post-COVID slowdown and lower demand patterns, combined with customers destocking inventories, reduced volumes in certain product lines / regions. Reuters

  • Raw-material inflation & supply-chain resilience — higher input costs and supply-chain inefficiencies made a leaner manufacturing footprint desirable to protect margins and reduce working-capital exposure. Reuters

  • Improve operational efficiency and free cash for strategic investments — the programme is explicitly linked to improving OTIF, throughput and funding targeted investments at flagship sites (the company flagged reinvestment into selected sites). akzonobel.com+1

3) Exactly which site actions have been announced so far (publicly known)

(A. May-2024 announcements)

(B. 2025 EMEA actions)

  • Wapenveld (Netherlands) and Machelen (Belgium) — announced May 22, 2025 as intended closures (production to be consolidated at other sites in the region; subject to local consultation). These were described by the company as further steps in the industrial transformation programme. akzonobel.com+1

(C. Canada / North America)

  • Port Hope, Ontario — production permanently discontinued following a major fire on 9 April 2025; on 22 April 2025 the company announced production would be permanently discontinued at that site (warehousing to remain). This local/municipal reporting is cited by local press and reflected in company regional communications. (Port Hope is one of the two Canada sites referenced in the Q2 investor update.) todaysnorthumberland.ca+1

(D. Other / aggregate)

  • Company Q2 investor update (July 2025) confirms 5 site closures announced YTD (3 in EMEA + 2 in Canada) and states consultations are in progress; it does not list every site name in that single slide/deck, but public press releases and local reporting confirm the EMEA sites above and Port Hope in Canada. akzonobel.com+1

Important transparency note: the Q2 investor slide explicitly states “2 sites in Canada” have been announced YTD — the Port Hope closure is independently documented. The company’s press-release pages and major releases name the EMEA sites, but I could not find a single public AkzoNobel release that names the full set of both Canadian sites (the investor slide states “2 in Canada” but company PR and widely-available press/net articles primarily name Port Hope). It’s possible the other Canadian action is either a site announced in a regional statement / consultation paper or was described in investor slides without a separate press release. akzonobel.com+1

4) Progress / financial impact and other KPIs

  • Savings targets & expected run-rate — management projected meaningful annualised savings from the programme: Reuters and company commentary in early 2025 referenced €120–150m (or in later messaging an annualised gross saving target above the original €250m target for the broader transformation programs — note company messaging evolved as the programme progressed). The Jan-2025 commentary noted an increase in expected job cuts and site rationalisations to reach larger savings. Reuters+1

  • Q2 2025 investor update metrics — the investor update described the industrial programme as “ahead of plan”, reported net OPEX savings of €35m in H1 2025, and flagged the SG&A programme was complete while industrial actions continued (5 site closures announced YTD). The Q2 results also show adjusted EBITDA and margin improvement (margins increased versus prior year quarter) with management attributing part of the margin progress to the SG&A and industrial efficiency programmes. akzonobel.com+1

  • Timing / consultations — for most planned closures the company follows local legal/works-council consultation processes; the investor slide and press releases repeatedly say “consultations in progress” and that finalisation will follow local labour-law processes. That means a multi-month timeline from intent → consultation → closure / transfer of production. akzonobel.com+1

5) How management describes the end-state (what the programme aims to deliver)

  • Fewer, larger, more efficient “anchor” plants that can run at scale and absorb transferred production. akzonobel.com

  • Lower complexity (fewer formulations/smaller SKUs at low-volume sites), lower fixed cost base (SG&A and manufacturing), and improved structural margins. Reuters+1

  • Reinvestment into selected flagship sites (some press coverage references targeted capex into sites that will be made “anchors” or “flagships”, while lower-performing sites are exited). Reuters

6) Outstanding questions / areas where public information is incomplete

  • The investor slide says 2 Canadian sites were announced YTD, but public press releases and local media clearly document Port Hope; the identity of the second Canadian site is not obvious from the global press releases I checked. The investor deck likely bundles some regionally-communicated actions that were not all covered by global press releases. I can dig into local provincial labour filings, Canadian securities or municipal notices, or earlier investor Q&A transcripts to find the second Canadian site if you want — but the company’s own investor slide is the authoritative confirmation of the “2 in Canada” statement. akzonobel.com+1

7) Bottom line (concise)

  • Introduced: May 2024 as a multi-year industrial optimisation programme; scope expanded into 2025. akzonobel.com+1

  • Why: concentrate production on larger sites, reduce complexity and costs, respond to weaker demand/customer destocking and higher input costs, improve margins. Reuters+1

  • What’s been done (public): intentions to close Groot-Ammers (NL), Cork (IE), Lusaka (ZM) (May 2024); Wapenveld (NL) and Machelen (BE) (May 22, 2025); Port Hope (ON) permanently discontinued after April 2025 fire — Q2 investor slide shows 5 closures announced YTD (3 EMEA, 2 Canada). akzonobel.com+3chemanager-online.com+3akzonobel.com+3

  • Progress: company says industrial programme is ahead of plan (Q2 2025 investor update); H1 2025 net OPEX savings reported; margins improving and management points to SG&A + industrial actions as structural drivers of margin uplift. akzonobel.com+1

If you want next steps, I can (pick one):

  1. Pull the full Q2 2025 investor slide deck and extract the slide text/annotations that mention the two Canadian sites and any supporting notes (company PDF). akzonobel.com

  2. Search local/regional press and government / works-council filings in Canada (Ontario and other provinces) to identify the second Canadian site and the consultation timelines.

  3. Build a short table that maps each announced site → announcement date → closure status (intent / consultation / closed) → number of employees affected (if reported) (handy for an internal note).

Which of those would be most useful?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *