[Company News] On August 1, 2025, Global New Material International (06616.HK) held its first global employee conference after successfully completing the acquisition of Merck’s global surface solutions business (SUSONITY). The event connected thousands of employees from core markets around the world, including China, Germany, the United States, Japan and South Korea,online and offline,fully kicking off the group’s global synergy, cultural co-innovation and strategic integration.

Su Ertian, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GNMI, along with the core management team of GNMI, attended the conference and engaged in in-depth dialogue with the global teams of SUSONITY, CQV and Chesir to clarify the integration goals, cultural vision and development direction for the next three to five years, injecting confidence and momentum into the integrated development.

Su Ertian: build a vision of global leadership through co-innovation culture

At the beginning of the conference, Chairman Su Ertian extended a warm welcome to the SUSONITY team:

“Today is not just the completion of a merger and acquisition, but the beginning of a new future for the global materials industry as a team.”

He proposed that GNMI’s new vision is to become the global leader in effect materials and surface technology. The addition of SUSONITY has brought GNMI a giant leap in global sales and service network, brand building and R&D capabilities, upgrading the company from “following the market” to “leading the market” and setting new standards in dimensions such as customer value, sustainability and global service capabilities.

In response to the common concern of employees about “change and constancy”, Su Ertian said:

• What remains unchangedis our long-term commitment to “quality, integrity and employee responsibility”;
• What has changed is the bigger business landscape, the broader development platform and more cross-regional growth opportunities.

He came up with the cultural concept of “co-innovation rather than integration” :

“Chesir represents speed and entrepreneurship, CQV stands for precision and innovation, and SUSONITY brings along global experience and customer focus. We will create a new global corporate culture based on trust, openness and respect.”

He outlined the core criteria for GNMI’s “success” in the next three to five years in three sentences:

• Customers see us as the most trusted and innovative partner;
• Employees take pride in being a part of the GNMI team and gain growth and motivation;
• GNMIleads the industry in terms of scale, technology and sustainability.

Michael Weiden: market synergy unlocks the value of “1+1 > 2”

Michael Weiden, Head of Marketing and Sales at SUSONITY, analyzed the direct value of integration from a global market perspective:

“ Achieving better development together is not just a slogan, but a change that customers can truly feel.”

He noted that SUSONITY ‘customer network in Europe and around the world, which naturally complements Chesir and CQV’s industrial agility and effect materials technology strengths in Asia, will bring about three major synergies:

• More precise customizedservices: Better understand regional differentiationand meet diverse needs;
• Faster delivery capability: Integrated supply chain, enhanced response speed;
• Stronger innovation foresight: Highly linking R&D to customer scenarios.

Michael pointed out that “The core of integration is enhancement, not disruption. Our service model will remain locally managed, and on that basis, we will offer a richer product portfolio, more professional technical support and more resilient supply chain capabilities.”

Carsten Plueg: global R&D network activates the innovation engine

Carsten Plueg, Head of Innovation and Applications at SUSONITY, looked forward to the global collaborative innovation blueprint brought about by integration from a technical perspective:

“We are building a cross-time zone, trans-cultural, customer-centric global co-innovation R&D network that will be the core engine for the continued growth of GNMI in the future.”

He introduced that the integrated GNMI will establish an efficient synergy mechanism among the five global R&D centers (China, Germany, the United States, Japan, and South Korea) :

• CQV focuses on innovation in high-end effect materials;
• Chesir excels in mass manufacturing and supporting systems;
• SUSONITY excels in formula engineering and deep transformation of customer scenarios.

“This is a true fusion of R&D cultures,” Carsten emphasized. “Our goal is to build a fast response, continuous innovation, collaborative and efficient technology system with the customer as the anchor.”

Consensus reached, the prime time for global co-innovation

From strategic setting to organizational integration, from market synergy to technological fusion, from cultural dialogue to talent vision, this global employee conference has fully ignited the team’s confidence and recognition in GNMI’s global development.

It was a true convergence of global forces – with mutual respect for Eastern and Western cultures, an efficient cross-regional collaboration, and a deep alignment of a shared vision for the future. GNMI is taking firm steps into the historical process of “from made-in- China to global dominance”.

The future starts from now, and it’s time to move forward together.