The chemist has been at the helm of Symrise for twelve years.
(Photo: Symrise)
Dusseldorf The promotion to the Dax would be “nice, but not essential,” said Heinz-Jürgen Bertram in the summer. In the meantime, the nice thing has happened: His group, the fragrance and aroma manufacturer Symrise, has been listed in the top stock exchange league since September. Bertram will have been happy about that, says a long-time company observer to the Handelsblatt. But the manager is “more focused on the matter”.
And this thing works well: Bertram has been a member of the Symrise Executive Board since December 2006. A group that has been continuously increasing its sales for years. This is also the case in the first nine months of 2021.
Sales rose 6.7 percent to 2.88 billion euros, as the company announced on Tuesday. For the full year, Symrise has raised its sales forecast again: At the company headquarters in Holzminden in Lower Saxony, organic sales growth of around nine percent is expected by the end of 2021.
Symrise is benefiting from the relaxation of the Corona requirements, increasing travel activity and the normalizing consumer behavior. In particular, the demand for sun protection products, perfumery articles, but also applications for beverages and culinary products have increased sales.
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When it comes to perception by the general public, Symrise can be described like its CEO: cautious. In an interview with Handelsblatt, Bertram even referred to the “core brand” of Symrise.
The chemist, who holds a doctorate in chemistry, likes to see the company that he has been leading for twelve years in the second row. But hardly any consumer goods company, food producer or cosmetics manufacturer can do without Symrise products. Its customers include Henkel and Unilever.
Symrise, with its 10,000 employees, is not in the public eye, and consumers come into contact with the company’s products an average of 20 to 30 times a day – be it through the mint taste in the toothpaste or the vanilla taste in the ice cream scoop. The group produces more than 30,000 fragrances and flavors as well as cosmetic ingredients and aroma chemicals that are used in perfumes, cosmetics, food, beverages, the pharmaceutical industry and pet food.
Worked up to the top
After studying chemistry, Bertram, the son of a farmer, worked his way up through various management functions to the top of the group. He initially worked for Bayer and the subsidiary Haarmann & Reimer. After their merger with Dragoco, Symrise was created in 2003.
So Bertram is there from the start and knows his company and the industry down to the last detail. “Many people associate Symrise with Bertram and vice versa,” says an industry expert. And he adds: “The capital market loves Bertram.” The Symrise boss appears confident and is able to inspire employees and investors.
The company is benefiting from the relaxation of the corona requirements in many countries.
(Photo: dpa)
In the industry, Bertram is considered a manager with vision because he has often shown a good hand in strategic decisions. In 2014, Symrise entered the pet food business with the 1.3 billion euro takeover of the French Diana Group. Sales in this segment grew particularly during the pandemic, in which many bought new pets. This shows that Symrise is much more than a fragrance and flavor manufacturer.
Employees also praise the entrepreneurial vision of their boss. Bertram tries to be approachable, his office door is open, you can also meet him in the laboratories. “He persistently implements decisions,” says one employee of Bertram. This is exactly what he expects from his workforce. “He quickly stops projects with no recognizable prospects of success.”
Bertram has set itself high goals: Symrise aims to achieve sales of 5.5 to 6.0 billion euros by the end of 2025. Before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda), a margin between 20 and 23 percent of profit should remain in the medium term. Industry experts consider this to be realistic, provided that a substantial acquisition is possible.
It is unclear whether Bertram will still be CEO of Symrise in 2025. The 63-year-old’s contract expires in October 2022. A decision on a possible extension is expected later this year. Industry observers estimate that Bertram could no longer have the full term of five years, but two or three years. Bertram does not want to officially comment on this – he is usually cautious.
More: How the DAX newcomer Symrise benefits from relaxed corona requirements in many countries