Could you comment on Arkema’s performance over the past year?

Residual effects from the pandemic continue to take their toll on many countries, while businesses are stressed by supply chain tensions and raw material price increases. However, Arkema is proud to have posted revenues of €9.5 billion in FY21, a 25% growth versus FY20, as well as record profitability with an EBITDA of €1.7 bn and an EBITDA margin of 18%. Our strong performance is a testament to the solidarity that the Arkema team showed. In line with our goal to become a pure-play specialty materials company by 2024, 85% of our revenue was derived from the specialty materials segment. If we include the latest M&A activities concluded, we are narrowing the gap and recording 90% share of revenues from our specialty business.

This year, Arkema is due to inaugurate its bio-based polyamide 11 plant on Jurong Island. Can you update us on the progress of this investment started in 2017?

Despite the major constraints we have experienced due to the pandemic, the construction is on track. We are deeply grateful to everyone involved in this project, from our consulting partners and contractors to the Singaporean authorities who have been massively supportive. Once complete, this investment will represent the biggest integrated bio-factory dedicated to high-performance polymers, and it will double Arkema’s polyamide 11 capacity.

The new plant will be using castor oil as a primary raw material. What are the advantages of castor beans as a bio-feedstock?

Castor bean is almost an intrinsically sustainable feedstock: Compared to other plants, like palm oil or soya, castor grows in very marginal environments, near deserts, which means its plantation does not require deforestation, nor does it compete for land with feed crops. Moreover, once the oil is extracted from the seed, the cake can be used as fertilizer in the castor field. In 2016, Arkema launched a program called “Pragati” together with our partners - BASF, Jayant Agro-Organics, and Solidaridad, an NGO. Pragati is the first sustainable castor program that engages the Indian castor farmers in the state of Gujarat, where 80% of the world’s castor beans supply originates. Gujarati small-farm holders are supported to apply the best practices for waste and water management, the use of fertilizers, but also how to make better profits. In the six years since starting the program, more than 13,000 ha of castor farming have been certified with the SuCCESS code (Sustainable Castor Caring for Environmental & Social Standards). 

As we will increase our bio-based polyamide production by 50% this year, Arkema is also working to diversify the source of castor oils. The use of durables instead of disposables is yet another way to reduce the consumption of our limited resources. In 2019, we started a program called Virtucycle in collaboration with Agiplast, a leader in the regeneration of high-performance polymers through mechanical recycling, and Arkema acquired Agiplast in 2021. With the acquisition, we become the first fully-integrated high-performance polymer manufacturer with an offer of both bio-based and recycled materials. Our solution of advanced, bio-circular materials covers the full spectrum of the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle environmental paradigm.

Could you briefly comment on the demand that you see in Asia for bio-based materials?

Demand is undoubtedly very strong and many of our customers are impatient to see the new factory onstream. Globally, Arkema’s strategy is to serve the region from the region, and the new built will allow us to do just that.

Arkema has a target to increase the number of women in senior roles to 25% by 2025. Could you comment on your diversity and inclusion strategy?

While diversity covers the hard numbers – 25% females in senior positions by 2025, 30% by 2030 – we added Inclusion as a new value within the company in order to create more room for women who take leading roles. Then, our diversity strategy also looks at age, ethnicity, and even culture, and we seek to create a balanced workforce where everyone feels empowered.

Do you have a final message?

Arkema’s well-balanced portfolio between Asia, Europe and North America, but also the value we bring to the market through our innovations, position Arkema well to withstand disruptions and inflation. To become a pure specialty player with a rich sustainable innovation portfolio, the most important thing for us is to complete our plant in Singapore, but also new plants announced in China and France.