Can you update us on your recent operations?

In recent years, Croda has invested heavily in our life sciences and consumer care businesses. We have acquired very important companies in the pharmaceutical and biological spaces that manufacture adjuvants for vaccines, lipids for biological formulations, and a variety of new technologies for pharmaceuticals products. We have also made important acquisitions in the consumer care area. In 2020 we acquired a recognized global company in Fragrances and Flavors called Iberchem, with headquarters in Spain, and in 2023 we acquired a biological company based in South Korea called Solus Biotech, which has a specialized portfolio of ceramides and phospholipids for the consumer and pharma markets. Our vision is to continue reinforcing our presence in the consumer and life sciences markets with a main focus on innovative and sustainable solutions for our customers.

What opportunities do you see from nearshoring?

We see a huge opportunity for Mexico in relation to this topic. Mexico as a country has a very matured and experienced manufacturing industry and has the right competitive advantages to become the first supplier for various markets in the US, and we believe that the consumer and life sciences markets are some of them. Mexico has become a country that will be a priority for us in the next years and we are looking to reinforce our strategy and look for opportunities for growth. We are currently reinforcing our capabilities to attend our customers’ expectations and growth plans, where currently some of them are also increasing their local activity based on the nearshoring opportunities.

What is Croda’s approach to innovation?

We have in general three different ways to approach to innovation: internal innovation; open Innovation, where we collaborate with other companies, customers or institutions focusing on specific projects; and technology investment, where we continually look for acquisitions of new technologies. In the case of LATAM we have workstreams focused on these three areas and with a key focus on sustainable technologies and biologicals for the consumer and life sciences markets.

How does Croda prioritize sustainability?

Croda has a strong net-zero goal, and every one of our sites worldwide has established a very strict decarbonization plan. We have been making excellent progress that has been published in our annual sustainability report, and fortunately, we are moving faster versus our initial targets. The steps we are taking to decarbonize are specific to each site. In Brazil, for example, we are replacing the fuel we use for boilers and different equipment with green fuels. In other Latam sites in Argentina and Brazil we have incorporated solar panels as an energy source, and also, we have been incorporating hybrids and electrical cars to or vehicle fleet in Latam.

What are Mexico’s strengths?

I believe that Mexico has very strong competitive advantages to play a very significant role in the manufacturing space in the Americas and across the globe. It is a mature and experienced country in the manufacturing sectors and has highly competitive manufacturing costs. It is a very opened economy with numerous free trade agreement and it is located beside the largest consumer market in the world, the US. It has a great potential to become the “China of the Americas”.

What are Croda’s goals for territorial growth?

We have an ambitious growth plan in LATAM. Our plan is to continue investing heavily in Brazil in all of our key markets in the consumer and life sciences spaces. Mexico is becoming also a key priority, and we intend to increase our activity and potentially our footprint here. Nearshoring provides a window of opportunity, and our customers see high value in having a local supply for our key specialized technologies.  We see a very promising future also for our business in North Latam.

As a company, and on top of our strategy and key pillars: Innovation, Sustainability and Growth, I would say that our big differentiator is our entrepreneurial spirit, where we are continually adapting our value proposition to bring high value and differentiated solutions to our customers in the different regions and markets that we serve.