Coventya

Coventya is one of just a few international, specialist chemicals companies capitalising on the rising demand for more sustainable materials.

The business, in which we invested in 2016, provides protective & decorative coatings for components such as those found in the automotive, aviation and construction sectors, and even as varied as luxury and consumer goods, and data storage.

The niche market for these high value added additives used in surface treatment - known as electroplating and electroless plating - is estimated to stand at about $2.5bn globally - and Coventya is well placed to meet the growing need for more efficient and greener processes.

Our investment

We invested in Coventya after identifying it as a leading player in a niche and highly regulated market, and one of a handful with true international reach.

After carving out the business from a large chemicals group, Coventya’s management team had successfully grown the business from €25m in 2000 to c.€120m by the time of our acquisition.

It operated in 58 countries on four continents and had 570 staff at 11 production sites.

Its growth path, international presence, and customer base made it an ideal partner for Silverfleet.

Meanwhile, its strong research and development division made Coventya distinct - and ready to help its customers adhere to new rules requiring them to seek more productive and environmentally friendly ways to coat their products. This in-house knowledge and innovation - spread across seven R&D centres at the time of our investment - would help Coventya gain greater market share.

Value creation

We’re helping Coventya increase its international business, particularly in Asia on an organic basis, and through a global buy-and-build strategy. Our greatest focus to date has been growing the company’s market share in China, where we have built a facility to help fill a gap in the local market for specialist chemicals with high quality standards.

Meanwhile, we have carried out four add-on acquisitions – two distributors (Telbis in Turkey and Mibus in the US) to further Coventya’s international footprint and two technology companies (Politeknik and microGLEIT to expand its product range with new attractive technologies.

Today, Coventya’s revenues stand at €160m, up 30% from 2016. About half its revenues come from outside Europe, with a quarter in Asia and a quarter in the Americas.