‘’A new and exciting era in our rich 125-year history starts now, as we officially mark the change of name from Lonza Specialty Ingredients (LSI) to Arxada and launch our new brand identity to the world.’’ Q.1 How was this journey from company’s launch as an independent business in July 2021 to the launch of new corporate identity in October 2021 ? Well, this journey has been truly exciting and encouraging ! On February 8, 2021, Lonza announced an agreement for the sale of the Specialty Ingredients business to Bain Capital and Cinven. Both Bain Capital and Cinven have strong experience in the industrials sector. They are also keen to make investments in R&D and innovation, as well as improving existing facilities to unlock the potential of the business. It was a smooth transition for all our stakeholders. Customers have shown lot of confidence in LSI’s proven capabilities to deliver products and services reliably. On October 21, 2021, LSI, a global specialty chemicals business, has announced that it has rebranded as Arxada. The new corporate identity reflects Arxada’s vision of building a world leading specialty chemicals company. The re-brand reflects the Company’s passion for delivering high performance and realizing potential, both for its customers and within its own operations. Arxada’s industry-leading regulatory expertise and deep understanding of each customer’s markets and evolving requirements, combined with its broad portfolio of science and technology capabilities, enable it to provide customized solutions which help customers perform at their best. As our CEO Marc Doyle says : “This new identity signals our intent to transform the Company as we build on our longstanding heritage of innovation and pioneering technology to enhance our presence within the microbial control and specialty chemicals markets. Our new corporate identity demonstrates our commitment to enable our customers and their products to be more efficient, more effective, more responsible and more sustainable.” Q.2 A new chapter begins for Arxada. So what exactly does this name ‘Arxada’ mean ? The name ‘Arxada’ is derived from arx, arcis, the Latin for citadel or fortress. Just like citadels performs as strongholds and protectors, our solutions strengthen the performance of our customers and their products, and through their action, we help protect people, places and the planet. Even though Arxada is rooted in history, it is a modern, fresh and unique word – much like our company, which has a great heritage, but is now a new, uniquely strong leader in our sector. After we launched our new brand identity to the world, we have received lot of phone calls and emails from our customers and vendors, who really appreciated the freshness & uniqueness of this name. Q.3 What do you want your audiences to think about Arxada ? With a powerful legacy of over 125 years, we are global leaders in Specialty chemicals business. We hold leading positions in both the business segments – Microbial Control Solutions (MCS) and Specialty Products Solutions (SPS). Our positioning summarizes what we want our audiences to think about us, and it guides what we say about ourselves – it is the most differentiated, valued strengths of our business, our products and our people. Arxada combines unmatched regulatory, scientific, technological and market expertise with an ethos of proactive collaboration to innovate solutions that enable our customers and their products to work better and be more sustainable. We strongly believe in our core values - Performance, Collaboration, Passion and Care. We are here to innovate solutions that ‘Potentiate the Performance’ of our customers and their products. Our solutions, our expertise and our support helps them to work better – more efficient, more effective and more sustainable. Q.4 India is one of the strategic growth regions for Arxada. You have strong product portfolios in Personal Care and Home Care segments to support this vision. Being in the regional leadership role, what are your plans for India ? Yes, it is true, we have strong product portfolios aligned with the regional requirements. Within our Consumer Preservation business, we offer a comprehensive range of well-established and next-generation preservatives across the global Home Care and Personal Care markets. We are the leading producer of anti-dandruff ingredients complemented by further functional ingredients such as high quality Vitamin B3 for cosmetic applications and specialty plant-based emulsifiers. Whatever the time, whatever the place, hygiene is essential. Around the world, you can find Arxada’s active ingredients and formulated solutions in products aimed at protecting the health of people and maintaining hygiene standards. We have a long-lasting reputation for innovation, quality and reliability. We believe in agility, flexibility, collaboration and support. With our scientific, technical and market expertise to innovate and create solutions, we have renewed our customer focus. With a strong market presence in India for so many years, we can definitely say that we understand our customers’ needs and we plan to continue adding value in many ways such as - highest quality & innovative solutions, reliable supply, good value for money, regulatory strength, proactive problem solving, expertise & insights with which we will continue supporting our customers when & where they need us. We are also quite determined to further strengthen our regional manufacturing foothold thus ensuring uninterrupted supplies for our customers and supporting ‘Make in India’ initiative. Our focus has always been and will always be on offering region-specific products. This involves bringing innovative global solutions to India and also designing & developing products specifically for our Indian customers, by understanding their requirements. Now, with this latest news which you must have heard - global leaders in microbial control solutions and performance additives – Arxada and Troy, have entered into an agreement to combine the two companies. This combination is a logical next step in Arxada’s strategy to strengthen its offering and enhance the capabilities of its Microbial Control Solutions (‘MCS’) business. Q.5 Along with the Home and Personal Care segment, what are the other business segments which you would like to target for strategic growth ? Arxada’s Microbial Control Solutions (MCS) business addresses six target markets: hygiene, home and personal care, paints and coatings, crop protection, material protection and wood protection. In Paint & Coatings segment, we provide wet state preservation for waterborne architectural paint and other formulations in the building and construction market space. Additionally, we play a critical role in the protection of marine vessels from marine antifouling and offer best in class technology for paint dry film protection against defacement from algae and fungi. Our Material Protection business offers solutions that include anti-microbials, corrosion inhibitors, lubricants and a variety of other specialty additives. These products are used across a range of industries including Metal Working Fluids, Powdered Metal, Plastics, and Oil and Gas. Arxada is a leading name in worldwide wood protection, with operations throughout Asia-Pacific, Africa, Europe, North and South America offering wood treating chemicals and related wood preservation technology. Our wood protection products enhance the performance and increase the longevity of wood, one of the world’s greatest renewable resources. We manufacture high-quality formulated products that protect wood from mold, insects, fungal decay and fire to help make the most of it as a sustainable and adaptable construction material. Our Crop Protection business offers customers a range of agro-chemistry and formulations for global agricultural markets. We have a leading position in the supply of Meta® Metaldehyde, the active of choice for controlling molluscs. Our unique Specialty Products Solutions (SPS) business provides complex, high-quality technologies and chemistries to customers across a range of industries within its three divisions: performance intermediates and chemicals, composite materials, and the custom development and manufacturing organization. We would like to systematically & strategically focus on these business areas to develop our growth strategy for the region.