Objectives and strategy
Hydratec Industries intends to make a sustainable contribution worldwide to the demand for food, health and mobility. This demand is growing strongly in response to global population growth and rising prosperity. Diversifying into Industrial Systems and High-Tech Components makes Hydratec Industries more agile and resilient to market fluctuations.
Food
Our companies deliver industrial solutions which help to efficiently provide food and water to increasing numbers of people and animals.
Health
By producing components for medical applications, our companies contribute towards improving our health.
Mobility
Our companies produce plastic components for cars, lorries and two-wheeled vehicles, among other things. They reduce the weight, leading to lower fuel consumption and reduced emissions.
Innovation is the key
Hydratec Industries’ independent, versatile companies develop smart products and functions which contribute to customers’ success. Our employees collaborate closely with customers and continually look for ways of improving products and production processes. We not only improve primary functions, but also logistics, maintenance, design and consultancy. We pay special attention to improving sustainability and preventing waste in particular.
Leading positions
We aim for leading positions in the various niche markets, are close to those markets and respond quickly to changes. Our long-term strategy is for all our activities to contribute to generating consistent growth in terms of revenue and result at least in line with the market. This is how we make it possible to create high added value for the end user.
Our far-reaching services lead to substantial customer loyalty. We make the difference for our customers by making use of smart technologies and we are expanding our product range at existing customers. We invest a lot of energy in various Operational Excellence programmes to prevent wastage in our customers’ production processes. The consequences for the environment and public acceptance of our activities and products play an increasingly important part in everything we and our customers do.
Industrial Systems’ products are sold on a project-by-project basis and worldwide, which means results may fluctuate. This makes their dependency on macroeconomic factors considerable, but also spreads the risks. The activities at High-Tech Components are process-oriented, which means that the fluctuations are less significant than in Industrial Systems.
Independent and agile
The management boards of the companies are responsible for their own operating activities within the agreed framework, and concentrate on their own specific markets. This independence makes the organisation agile and innovative. This organisational set-up once again proved its worth in 2022. All operations were able to adapt quickly and in their own way to the circumstances, such as when it came to suddenly rising inflation, problems in the supply chain and the labour market. Furthermore, our structure is cost-effective; there are no central corporate departments, which limits overheads.
The Management Board of Hydratec Industries has regular consultations with the management of the companies to discuss all aspects of the business and periodic developments of results. These consultations are based on a fixed framework of regular reports including analyses of the key performance indicators. Frequent informal meetings are also held. All this takes place on the basis of ambitious, but realistic targets, derived from scenarios which serve as guidelines for all those involved. Strategic market positions and market options are evaluated annually for each segment and a SWOT analysis is performed. We take decisions about long-term investments on this basis and set priorities for product market developments. One of our guidelines is a consistent and appropriate return for our shareholders.
Entrepreneurship and ambition
To respond actively to relevant changes and opportunities in the market, it is essential that each of the activities has effective, highly motivated management and employees. ‘The war for talent’ is in full swing and, to meet our growth target, we are paying added attention to finding and keeping good employees, such as by offering internships and graduation placements on an ongoing basis. We furthermore continually promote employee development, which includes offering education and training.
Financial targets
We aim for sufficient profitability for all the companies within Hydratec Industries. This creates scope for investments in people and innovations and for cushioning setbacks. Each segment has a longer-term operating result target unless special economic circumstances arise or adjustments are needed in the organisation. For Industrial Systems this is at least 10%, and for High-Tech Components at least 8%. In conjunction with the targeted growth for Hydratec Industries and preferred solvency target of at least 30%, we aim for a dividend distribution of at least 40% of the result after tax (excluding any non-recurring income).
Growth
It is our ambition to continue to grow in terms of quality with the activities we pursue at present. The key drivers for this are world population growth and the innovative power of Hydratec Industries. In addition, we want to expand and broaden our existing activities through acquisitions and joint operations. Our acquisition strategy on the basis of current activities is that of ‘buy and build’. In 2022, some acquisition opportunities arose in the Systems segment, but have not yet led to a result. We will dispose of operations that offer insufficient long-term potential for Hydratec Industries and can develop better structurally within other organisations.
