Surventis Launches as Independent Coatings & Surface Treatment Company

Surventis, formerly BASF Coatings, recently launched as an independent company, completing its carve-out from BASF. With around €3.9 billion (roughly $4.45 billion) in annual sales and around 10,700 employees, Surventis is one of the world’s leading suppliers of automotive coatings and surface treatment solutions, company officials stated in a press release. The business is majority-owned by funds managed by global investment firm Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) in partnership with Qatar Investment Authority. BASF holds a 40% stake in Surventis.

With a new name and brand identity, Surventis will continue to develop, produce and market coatings and surface treatment solutions for industrial, automotive and refinish customers worldwide. Its portfolio spans well-known brands such as Chemetall, Glasurit, and R-M, delivering high-performance and sustainable solutions, noted the release.

What Changes for Surventis

Surventis serves more than 42,000 customers across more than 140 countries from a network of more than 30 production and development sites. Its headquarters is in Muenster, Germany, which hosts the world’s largest integrated paint manufacturing site.

As a standalone company, Surventis says that it will operate with greater speed, agility and focus. Carlyle will support the business through targeted investments in its global capabilities and local operations, drawing on its track record in carving out and building standalone industrial companies. Surventis will strategically focus on entrepreneurship, performance and growth.

“Today marks an exciting new chapter for Surventis and for all of our employees around the world,” said Jens Luehring, chief executive officer of Surventis. “I want to thank the entire team whose dedication and hard work have brought us to this milestone. We are building on more than 130 years of coatings expertise and some of the most trusted brands in the industry as we begin our journey as an independent company. Our customers will benefit from a faster, more focused partner, with our full attention on the surfaces they make and sell. Their success is our success. We are already a leader in this industry, and our ambition is clear: to become the leading coatings technology company.”

“As an independent company, Surventis is exceptionally well-positioned to accelerate innovation, deepen customer partnerships and capture global growth opportunities. We are looking forward to supporting Jens and the Surventis management team in their next chapter,” said Tanaka Maswoswe, partner at Carlyle.

Surventis will continue to operate with the same products, technologies, brands and technical teams, and the portfolio across all three businesses remains unchanged, ensuring continuity in reliability, quality and service, the company said.

Experienced Management Team

Surventis will be led by its executive committee, headed by chief executive officer Jens Luehring. Joining the executive committee are chief financial officer Michael Pontzen and chief transformation officer Ewout van Jarwaarde. Together with Nils Lessmann, executive vice president operations mobility/refinish, and the leaders of the company’s three business units – Frank Naber, executive vice president surface treatment; Patrick Zhao, executive vice president mobility coatings; and Steve Arndt, executive vice president refinish coatings – they form an experienced and complementary executive committee, combining fresh external perspective with strong business continuity.