Q & A

1. What kind of company is Brenntag?
   
2. Who is managing Brenntag?
   
3. Why does Brenntag deliver attractive operating results?
   
4. What are the key figures of Brenntag?
   
5. What are the key elements of Brenntag’s business model?
   
6. Which are the main industry sectors Brenntag’s customers are active in?
   
7. In which regions is Brenntag active?
   
8. How is Brenntag’s business managed?
   
9. What is Brenntag’s vision?
   
10. How can and will Brenntag grow?
    
11. What are the specifics of the chemical distribution market?

 

1. What kind of company is Brenntag?

 

Brenntag is the global market leader in full-line chemical distribution (in terms of sales, 2008 data). We provide business-to-business distribution solutions for industrial and specialty chemicals globally. Brenntag is a distributor of more than 10,000 products. We link chemical manufacturers and chemical users, thus increasing supply chain efficiency as possible. We provide one-stop shop solutions to our customers and offer value-added services, such as just-in-time delivery, mixing and blending, formulation, repackaging, inventory management, drum return handling and technical services.

 

2. Who is managing Brenntag?

 

Brenntag has a highly experienced management team. The board of management combines over 90 years of experience in the chemical distribution sector:

 

• Steve Holland, our Chief Executive Officer , joined Brenntag in 2006 and has a distinguished career of 30 years in chemical manufacturing and distribution. Steve Holland has been a board member since 2009 and Chief Executive Officer of Brenntag Europe since 2006.

 

• Jürgen Buchsteiner, our Chief Financial Officer, joined Brenntag in 2000 and has over 20 years of management experience in finance, accounting, audit and investor relations positions in the chemical manufacturing and distribution industries.

 

• William Fidler, Member of the Management Board effective March 21, 2011, joined Brenntag in 1970 and brings in a wealth of experience in the chemical distribution business. He is responsible for Brenntag's North and Latin American operations.

 

 

3. Why does Brenntag deliver attractive operating results?

 

We purchase large-scale quantities of industrial and specialty chemicals from our suppliers, repackage them into smaller quantities and provide a full-line of chemicals in less-than-truckload quantities to our customers worldwide. With our value-added services, such as just-in-time delivery, mixing and blending, formulation, repackaging, inventory management, drum return handling and technical services, we provide one-stop shop solutions to our customers.

 

4. What are the key figures of Brenntag?

 

With more than 12,000 employees in nearly 70 countries, we realized sales of € 7.6 billion in 2010. Via a dense network of more than 400 distribution facilities we serve about 160,000 customers around the world.

 

 

5. What are the key elements of Brenntag’s business model?

 

Brenntag’s business model is based on complete geographic coverage and diversity across industries, customers, products and suppliers. This positions Brenntag to benefit from industry trends and builds in a demonstrable measure of resilience. Linking chemical producers and customers, we focus on providing B2B distribution solutions to customers and suppliers rather than just products.

 

The broad range of over 10,000 products in combination with the provision of full-service-offerings makes us independent from any specific market segment.

 

6. Which are the main industry sectors Brenntag’s customers are active in?

 

Our customers are active in diverse end-market industries such as coatings, food, oil & gas, pharmaceuticals, personal care and water treatment, thus making Brenntag to a large extent independent from specific industries or regional markets.

 

7. In which regions is Brenntag active?

 

The company manages its business regionally with leading positions across Europe (#1), North America (#3), Latin America (#1) (based on 2008 data, measured in terms of sales) and a growing presence in the Asia Pacific market place. In all these markets Brenntag aims to be the preferred full-line chemical distributor and partner of choice for customers and suppliers.

 

8. How is Brenntag’s business managed?

 

We manage our business regionally. We hold leading positions across Europe, North America, Latin America and a growing presence in the Asia-Pacific market place. This enables us to achieve economies of scale. We also profit from opportunities in faster-growing economies.

 

9. What is Brenntag’s vision?

 

We want to be the safest, fastest growing, most profitable, global chemical distributor and preferred channel for both specialty and industrial chemicals.

 

10. How can and will Brenntag grow?

 

Brenntag focuses on continued profitable growth. We follow a dedicated growth strategy and show a proven track record of profitable organic growth as well as growth through acquisitions. The global third-party chemical distribution market provides attractive opportunities as it grows faster than global chemical consumption.

 

For organic growth we target selected customer industries that we believe to be attractive. We actively manage our global and pan-regional customer accounts and focus on taking over activities from chemical producers seeking outsourcing options. In addition we see promising potential for growth in value-added services.

 

In order to continue external growth and accelerate earnings, we seek acquisition opportunities in the growth areas Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Eastern Europe as well as in the established markets Europe and North America. We continuously expand our geographic coverage to gain further market presence and to enter key emerging markets.

 

11. What are the specifics of the chemical distribution market?

 

The global third-party chemical distribution market provides attractive opportunities as it has historically grown more rapidly than global chemical consumption.

 

The market is highly fragmented with the top five distributors accounting for less than 19% of the global third-party chemical distribution market. This offers a wide range of acquisition targets to Brenntag.

 

Customers and suppliers seek distributors with global coverage, full product range and competitive pricing. The need for critical scale therefore creates a significant market entry barrier.