The information contained within this announcement is deemed by Hardide to constitute inside information pursuant to Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 as amended. 

22 May 2024

Hardide plc

("Hardide", "the Group" or "the Company")

Announcement of new Chief Executive Officer ("CEO")

Hardide plc, the provider of advanced surface treatment solutions, is pleased to announce that it has appointed Matthew (Matt) Hamblin, currently a non-executive director of the Company, as its new permanent CEO, effective from 3 June 2024.

Steve Paul, who is currently serving as interim CEO, will continue to work closely alongside Matt in a sales and business development capacity.

Until early 2023 Matt was Chief Executive Officer at Keronite, an advanced coatings and surface treatment company, where he led its growth into profitability and its subsequent sale to the Curtiss-Wright Corporation in November 2022. Matt has prior experience in a variety of sales and commercial leadership roles, including most recently as Commercial Vice President of Nyobolt, a high-performance battery and charging technology company.

Andrew Magson, Non-Executive Chair, commented:

"We are delighted that Matt is to become Hardide's new CEO. His leadership and commercial experience and deep understanding of the coatings and surface treatment sector is directly relevant to the realisation of Hardide's growth strategy.

We are extremely grateful to Steve Paul for his incisive leadership of the Group on an interim basis over the last four months during which time our new enhanced components selling strategy has been launched and Hardide's trading performance has improved significantly. We are very fortunate that Steve will now continue to work with Hardide and support Matt in a sales and business development capacity."

Matt Hamblin commented:

"I am very excited by the opportunity to lead the team at Hardide and to drive the growth and evolution of the business. Working for the past six months in a non-executive capacity has strengthened my belief that combining the excellent technical and engineering foundations of the Company with a refreshed commercial vision will deliver profitable growth for Hardide going forward. I look forward to working with Steve to grow Hardide's new enhanced components offering, alongside a refreshed focus on developing existing customers where Hardide provides a service, as well as developing opportunities within new markets and applications through a new solution based selling approach."

Notes to editors:

www.hardide.com

Hardide develops, manufactures and applies advanced technology tungsten carbide/tungsten metal matrix coatings to a wide range of engineering components. Its patented technology is unique in combining in one material, a mix of toughness and resistance to abrasion, erosion and corrosion; together with the ability to coat accurately interior surfaces and complex geometries. The material is proven to offer dramatic improvements in component life, particularly when applied to components that operate in very aggressive environments. This results in cost savings through reduced downtime and increased operational efficiency as well as a reduced carbon footprint. Customers include leading companies operating in the energy sectors, valve and pump manufacturing, industrial gas turbine, precision engineering and aerospace industries.