Born on May 18, 2006, with its listing on the Paris Stock Exchange, Arkema was built around a clear ambition: to become an independent reference player in Specialty Materials. Over twenty years, this industrial and human journey has resulted in the emergence of a global group, among the leaders in its sector and firmly focused on innovation. Driven by strong values, Arkema has relied on the collective strength and expertise of the women and men who make up the Group to pursue sustainable growth.
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An industrial success
Arkema’s story is one of transformation. Originally a predominantly European company focused on commodity product lines, Arkema has nearly doubled in size to become, in twenty years, a recognized global leader in Specialty Materials, with a strong financial structure and leading financial and non-financial results.
Specialty Chemicals account today for 85% of its sales, compared with 36% at its inception. This deep transformation has been made possible thanks to strong innovation momentum, major investments, and very active portfolio management driven by targeted divestments and nearly thirty acquisitions, including Bostik, Coatex, Sartomer, Den Braven, Ashland’s adhesives business, and PIAM.
Since 2006, Arkema has started up numerous industrial units in North America and Asia, enabling the emergence of world-scale platforms notably in Beaumont, Calvert City, Changshu, Kerteh, and Singapore. The Group has thus rebalanced its geographic footprint, with nearly one-third of its sales generated in each of the world’s major regions, allowing it to stay close to its customers and demonstrate its resilience in an increasingly complex international environment.
Arkema’s trajectory over the past twenty years has also been accompanied by strong value creation for shareholders, in which employees - who now hold nearly 10 % of the share capital - have been closely involved. Thus, while the current economic and geopolitical context is weighing on valuations across the chemical industry, Arkema’s share price has significantly outperformed the CAC 40 index and the average of its peers, and its TSR (Total Shareholder Return) has reached an increase of around 270% over the twenty-year period.
Sustainable innovation as a driver of growth
To strengthen its leadership, Arkema has relied over the past two decades on a strong innovation capability, a true driver of the Group’s growth in key markets such as clean mobility, energy efficiency, sports, electronics, healthcare, renewable energies, 3D printing, etc…
Each year, Arkema invests significantly in research and development - more than 3% of sales in 2025 - mobilizing its teams around the world to design increasingly high performance and sustainable solutions, guided by the ambition embodied in its signature: “Innovative materials for a sustainable world.”
From high performance polymers to next-generation adhesives, including coating additives and resins, the Group has progressively established itself as a strategic and indispensable partner to its customers, working alongside them to develop cutting-edge solutions to address the challenges of the energy transition and new consumption habits.
20 years on, and the future ahead
This anniversary marks a moment of collective pride, yet it is far from being an end point.In a complex global environment full of challenges, Arkema and its 20,000 employees are approaching the next decade with confidence, ambition, and enthusiasm.
Building on its strengths and the position it has developed step by step since May 18, 2006, the Group will continue to write its history with the same high standards: combining economic performance, sustainable innovation, and environmental and social responsibility. It will be able to seize growth opportunities, both geographic and application-driven, offered by its still relatively modest size in several regions and many markets, as well as by its cutting-edge technologies.
All pictures: Arkema
