As we launch our inaugural CSR report, Vibrantz Technologies is also proudly celebrating our second anniversary as a global specialty chemicals and materials solutions provider.

Just 24 months into our journey, we continue honoring and building upon the combined 300-year legacy of our predecessor companies as we innovate advanced materials, color solutions and performance coatings technologies for customers worldwide. At Vibrantz, we often say that “we elevate the everyday.” Our core purpose is to bring color, performance and vibrancy to life and – daily – we live out this calling by providing critical, high-value products, cultivating a creative and collaborative spirit among employees, and being a responsible and impactful presence in our communities. 

The world faced another tumultuous year in 2023. Throughout the year, demand across many end-markets remained weak as customers worked through high inventory levels built up during the pandemic, forcing many to revise financial expectations and cost structures. Amidst this difficult environment, the Vibrantz team took swift action to ensure we remained well positioned to serve customers while continuing the heavy lift of our large-scale integration. 

The resilience of our global workforce throughout 2023 was remarkable and inspiring. During the year, we delivered strong revenue and earnings and improved earnings margins. We also began to establish the “Vibrantz Way,” a manner of working in which we move at speed, prioritize the safety of our people and operations, focus on enhancing the customer experience, and hold each other accountable. 

This report is a shining example of our purpose in action and how we are stepping closer to becoming world class with a sound CSR mindset at the core of our strategy.

Enriching our people, culture, communities and planet are vital to the long-term future we envision and our report is organized to reflect the guiding commitments of our CSR program, including remaining ethically centered, socially connected, environmentally responsible and financially disciplined. Each section outlines our actions, progress, targets and key performance indicators in each category.

Vibrantz has been awarded a “Committed” badge by EcoVadis. This is impressive considering that in just 12 months we established our CSR Council, mobilized our sustainability efforts and undertook the EcoVadis rating process. We achieved two of our highest scores in the environmental and sustainable procurement categories, highlighting the hard work and commitment to sustainable practices that Vibrantz embodies every day. Notably, two of our European subsidiaries in Spain and The Netherlands earned Platinum and Silver medals, respectively. 

Looking ahead, Vibrantz is positioned to contribute to megatrends shaping societal and consumer needs like digitization and connectivity, the effects of climate change, global policy driving cleaner technologies, and urbanization around the world. We are particularly excited about the ways our innovations are elevating each day.  

Memory and electronics

Our innovations for electronic materials and surface polishing will impact next-generation microchips and semiconductors as processing and memory needs in everyday devices increase. 

Mobility

Our products remain instrumental in making automobiles, trains, buses and recreational vehicles safer and durable. Our nanotube dispersions for battery housing aid electrical conductivity and create lighter, stronger materials. And our manganese products for batteries support the shift to zero-emission automobiles. 

Eco-friendly paints

Our Pearls™ biocide-free tinting solution is positioned to grow as regulations encourage colorant producers and retail paint stores to seek more eco-friendly options. And our reflective pigments are helping improve energy efficiency of buildings. 

Plastic pollution

Our reflective pigments reflect near-infrared light in black and dark plastics, making them easily detectable in recycling operations and lessening unnecessary waste at landfills. 

Digital printing

Our digital inks for appliance glass and ceramic dinnerware are important as home and decorative applications embrace printing to achieve quick, stylish and affordable design.    

I am incredibly grateful to our CSR Council and all our employees for embracing our shared purpose and remaining steadfast since we began our journey in 2022. They are the reason we are delivering on our promise to make the everyday brighter and more functional for customers and consumers. Vibrantz is fortunate they have chosen to share their heads, hands and hearts with us. 

On behalf of the Vibrantz team, thank you for following our journey to create this very special company and shape a culture, footprint and legacy we are so proud to call our own. 

-D. Michael Wilson

President and CEO

D. Michael Wilson

President and CEO

Wilson is president and CEO at Vibrantz.

Prior to Vibrantz, Wilson joined Prince International Corporation as president and CEO in 2020. He has more than 25 years of executive leadership experience and a track record of success across multiple global businesses in the specialty chemicals space.

Before Prince, Wilson served as president and CEO at Ingevity from 2015 to 2020. Prior to that, he was executive vice president and president of Performance Chemicals at Albemarle Corporation from 2013 to 2015. From 1997 to 2013, Wilson held executive roles with FMC Corporation, including executive vice president and president of the Specialty Chemicals group, corporate vice president and general manager of the Industrial Chemicals group, and division manager for the Lithium division.

Wilson received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.