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I have worked with companies which decided very early on to address environmental challenges in a responsible manner, and I actually decided to join Archroma because of their leadership in this area.Īrchroma has a very long history of driving sustainability in the textile industry. TW: Does your history with heavy industry associated with lubricants and chemistries affect your approach to sustainability at Archroma? This has produced the expected results: After the first months of the pandemic in 2020 that impacted all our industries and markets, we have seen a regular recovery, and today our sales are back at pre-pandemic levels. We also created a network of global Competence Centers dedicated to R&D and application development in their specific area of expertise, such as for instance our global Competence Center for Denim and Casual wear in Barcelona, Spain our global Competence Center for Paper Chemicals in the United Kingdom, and our global Competence Center for Textile Finishing in Switzerland. We had a solid foundation as a leader in sustainable, R&D-enabled chemistry, and a diversified portfolio, and that allowed us to serve our customers despite the disruptions and challenges worldwide.Īt the same time as our team stepped up to the challenge, we also reorganized ourselves and implemented a regional structure with seven clusters, bringing sales and marketing, supply chain and production all under one roof and closer to our customer base. I think we were very well armed to weather the crisis. Van de Kerkhof: I indeed took the helm of Archroma in January 2020, just a few weeks before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. How did you manage the new role with the increased leadership challenges? TW: You entered your CEO role at Archroma during a challenging time. Her personal beliefs that “industrial leaders must fight for climate and environmental protection,” inform her leadership approach as she puts Archroma on an economically and ecologically sustainable path. Van de Kerkhof joined Archroma from Castrol, BP plc’s branded lubricant division, where she was vice president, Western Hemisphere.
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She succeeded Alexander Wessels who was named vice chairman of the board. At the beginning of 2020, Archroma’s board of directors named Heike van de Kerkhof CEO of the company.