What Altana does

ALTANA AG is a privately held German specialty chemicals group headquartered in Wesel, North Rhine-Westphalia, founded in 1977 and controlled by SKion GmbH, the family investment office of founder Herbert J. Schneller. The company organizes its operations into four wholly-owned divisions: BYK (additives and instruments for coatings, plastics, and industrial formulations), ECKART (metallic and pearlescent effect pigments for automotive, cosmetics, and industrial coatings), ELANTAS (electrical insulation materials for motors, transformers, batteries, and power electronics), and ACTEGA (coatings, sealants, and printing inks for packaging). Each division holds a leading global position in its respective niche, and the company also operates Cubic Ink as an internal startup for UV-curing 3D printing resins serving DLP, LCD, and SLA industrial additive manufacturing applications.

Underlying technologies are predominantly materials-science driven, including patented radar-transparent pearlescent pigments for autonomous-driving applications, SiO2-encapsulated metallic effect pigments for waterborne coatings, certified additives enabling longer wind-turbine rotor blades (BYK-C 8001), PVC-free food-contact sealants (PROVALIN), and thermal interface materials for lithium-ion battery systems. Following the 2023 acquisition of an 88.7% stake in Swiss Von Roll Holding AG, ALTANA expanded its high-voltage insulation portfolio to include offshore wind turbine generator systems. The company maintains manufacturing and R&D sites across Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the United States, Brazil, China, India, Japan, Spain, and Switzerland.

ALTANA generates revenue through direct B2B sales to enterprise customers across global coatings, automotive, packaging, electronics, and energy markets, with quote-based pricing and technical-service-driven customer relationships. The company reported €3.17 billion in FY2024 revenue, a 16% year-over-year increase, supported by a workforce of 5,001-10,000 employees. Sustainability positioning is a material commercial differentiator — ALTANA ranks in the top 1% of companies worldwide on EcoVadis with a Platinum Medal (84/100 points) and has reduced direct greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 56% since 2014 while growing sales.

Name

Altana

Legal name

ALTANA AG

Website

http://www.altana.com/

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

ALTANA AG is a privately held German specialty chemicals group operating four divisions — BYK (additives), ECKART (effect pigments), ELANTAS (electrical insulation), and ACTEGA (packaging coatings and sealants) — serving enterprise customers across coatings, automotive, electronics, and packaging industries globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Wesel

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices17 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Specialty Chemicals Manufacturing and Sales: ALTANA develops, manufactures, and sells high-quality innovative specialty chemical products through four divisions: BYK (additives and instruments), ECKART (metallic and pearlescent effect pigments), ELANTAS (electrical insulation materials), and ACTEGA (coatings and sealants for packaging). Revenue is generated through direct B2B sales to industrial customers globally.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Altana AG develops, manufactures, and sells high-quality specialty chemical products through four specialized divisions: BYK (additives and instruments for coatings, plastics, and industrial applications), ECKART (metallic and pearlescent effect pigments for automotive, cosmetics, and industrial coatings), ELANTAS (electrical insulation materials for generators, motors, transformers, batteries, and power electronics), and ACTEGA (coatings, sealants, and printing inks for packaging and printing industries). The company also operates the Cubic Ink platform for resin-based 3D printing materials. Products are sold directly to enterprise industrial customers via quote-based B2B sales.

Product overview

ALTANA AG operates as a global specialty chemicals group organized into four divisions—BYK (additives and instruments), ECKART (metallic and pearlescent effect pigments), ELANTAS (electrical insulation), and ACTEGA (coatings and sealants for packaging)—each serving as distinct product lines with specific market focuses. The company also operates Cubic Ink as an internal startup for 3D printing materials using UV-curing resins across DLP, LCD, and SLA technologies. Following its 2023 acquisition of Von Roll Holding AG, ELANTAS expanded its portfolio to include specialized insulation systems for offshore wind turbines and high-voltage applications. The divisions operate as separate business units under the ALTANA umbrella, unified by shared focus on specialty chemical innovations but serving distinct customer needs across coatings, plastics, electronics, and packaging industries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BYK: Additives and instruments division of ALTANA, offering solutions for coatings, plastics, and other applications
• ECKART
• ELANTAS
• ACTEGA
• Cubic Ink
• ECKART UV-Curing Inks
• ACTGreen Barrier Coatings
• PROVALIN
• Low Gauge Sealant
• BYK-C 8001
• CERAFLOUR
• IReflex
• SiO2-Encapsulated Metallic Effect Pigments
• RECYCLOBYK 4371
• ELAN-drive

Products and services

• BYK Additives & Instruments Additives and instruments division offering innovative solutions for coatings, plastics, and other applications, providing additives that improve properties and quality of end products for industrial manufacturers globally.
• ECKART Effect Pigments Effect pigments division and world leader in metallic and pearlescent pigments, offering brilliant, innovative solutions for various industries including automotive coatings, cosmetics, construction, and printing.
• ELANTAS Electrical Insulation Electrical insulation division focused on the global electrical and electronics industry, leading global supplier of primary and secondary insulation materials including thermal interface materials and insulation systems for generators, motors, transformers, batteries, and power electronics.
• ACTEGA Coatings & Sealants Coatings and sealants division providing innovative products and technologies for the packaging and printing industry, including barrier coatings, sealants, and printing inks for beverage, food, and consumer packaging applications.
• Cubic Ink 3D Printing Materials ALTANA's internal startup platform for 3D printing materials, providing UV-curing resins for industrial additive manufacturing across DLP, LCD, and SLA technologies, used in aerospace, automotive, medical technology, and consumer goods sectors.
• ACTGreen Barrier Coatings Environmentally friendly barrier coatings from ACTEGA that seal substrate surfaces and protect packaging from external and internal influences while maintaining sustainability for the packaging industry.
• PROVALIN World's only PVC-free sealing material for metal vacuum seals used in food packaging, recognized by its distinctive blue color and providing a unique alternative to traditional PVC-based sealants for food packaging manufacturers.
• Low Gauge Sealant ACTEGA sealant compound that reduces the weight of crown caps by up to 0.3 grams, enabling potential savings of 90,000 tons of steel annually given billions of crown corks manufactured worldwide for beverage bottlers.
• BYK-C 8001 First certified additive for wind turbines worldwide that increases energy efficiency by enabling longer and more durable rotor blades of nearly identical weight through increased material strength, used by wind turbine manufacturers.
• CERAFLOUR Biodegradable biopolymer surface protection additives from BYK consisting of over 97 percent renewable raw materials, providing material properties improvement while maintaining biodegradability for sustainable coatings and plastics manufacturers.
• IReflex Aluminum pigments for wall paints developed by ECKART that reflect up to 50 percent of heating energy back from walls while also reflecting heat outside during summer months, used in construction and architectural coatings.
• SiO2-Encapsulated Metallic Effect Pigments (Hydroshine) Environmentally compatible waterborne coating solutions using silicon dioxide-encapsulated metallic effect pigments from ECKART, providing flexibility in the use of waterborne coatings for automotive manufacturers.
• Thermal Interface Materials (TIM) Thermally conductive insulation materials from ELANTAS ensuring long-lasting use of lithium-ion batteries, reliable function of power electronics, and charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, serving automotive and EV charging manufacturers.
• Von Roll Insulation Systems Specialized insulation systems from acquired Von Roll Holding AG, designed for offshore wind turbines and high-voltage applications, engineered to withstand harsh offshore conditions and enable green electricity generation for decades, serving energy and electrical equipment manufacturers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 56% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions since 2014 while growing sales
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• SK Industriemodell of AachencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTechnology partnership to enable production of prototypes and small series using 3D-printed tool inserts via innovative 'Print & Inject' process. Cubic Ink materials combined with SK Industriemodell's manufacturing expertise.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Solvay: Belgian specialty chemicals company with comparable portfolio in advanced materials, composites, and additives serving automotive, electronics, and construction end-markets. Solvay's specialty polymers and silica businesses overlap with ALTANA's BYK and ELANTAS product lines.
• PPG Industries: Global paints and coatings giant whose industrial coatings, automotive refinish, and packaging coatings businesses overlap with ACTEGA and ECKART's downstream customers. PPG's scale and direct customer relationships with OEMs make it a broad incumbent competitor for ALTANA's coatings-related products.
• BASF: World's largest chemical company with a broad portfolio that includes significant specialty additives, pigments, and coatings businesses directly competing with each of ALTANA's four divisions. BASF's scale, R&D resources, and integrated value chain make it the dominant broad incumbent competitor.

Direct peers

• Clariant: Swiss specialty chemicals company focused on additives, pigments, and industrial catalysts. Clariant's care chemicals and natural resources segments directly overlap with ALTANA's BYK (additives) and ECKART (pigments) divisions in serving coatings, plastics, and personal care customers.
• Wacker Chemie: German specialty chemicals company with comparable mid-size revenue (~€6B) and similar focus on silicones, polymers, and biosolutions. Wacker's customer base in construction, automotive, and electronics overlaps with ALTANA's coating, sealant, and insulation markets.
• Evonik Industries: German specialty chemicals group of similar scale (~€15B revenue) with comparable business mix across additives, coatings raw materials, and high-performance polymers. ALTANA's four-division structure mirrors Evonik's multi-segment operating model serving overlapping B2B customers in coatings, plastics, and electronics.
• Lanxess: German specialty chemicals company with comparable portfolio in additives, pigments, and industrial chemicals. Lanxess serves similar automotive, construction, and electronics end-markets with B2B specialty chemistries, making it one of the closest structural comparables to ALTANA.
• DIC Corporation (Sun Chemical): Japanese-headquartered pigments and printing inks manufacturer that directly competes with ECKART in effect pigments and with ACTEGA in printing inks. DIC's performance materials and packaging segments are highly comparable to ALTANA's specialty pigments and packaging coatings.
• Arkema: French specialty materials manufacturer with comparable divisions in coating solutions, adhesives, and advanced materials. Arkema's Bostik adhesives and coating resins directly overlap with ALTANA's ACTEGA and BYK product portfolios in packaging and industrial coatings.
• Merck KGaA: German science and technology company whose performance materials division produces effect pigments, cosmetics ingredients, and specialty chemicals that directly compete with ECKART's pearlescent pigments and ALTANA's broader specialty additives portfolio in automotive and cosmetics applications.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

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• Facebookfacebook.com/altanaag

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A3 records

Investments7 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Altana