Armacell shows how the treasury can support corporate growth

Best SME/MME Solution

Overall Winner

Armacell

Photo of Wim van Acker, Armacell, Krisztina Fülöp, Citi and Alexander Mishchenkov, Armacell.

Alexander Mishchenkov

Treasurer

Luxembourg

Armacell, a global leader in high performance insulation, operates 26 manufacturing plants worldwide serving customers in 80+ countries.

in partnership with

The challenge

Prior to implementing a centralised treasury solution, Armacell’s rapid international expansion had left treasury operating through 65 local banking partners, creating limited global cash visibility, constrained central control and reduced ability to deploy liquidity where it was needed.

This created a structural inefficiency: substantial cash balances were held in various operating entities while the group simultaneously incurred additional borrowing. As a result, the consolidated balance sheet showed significant cash holdings alongside short-term debt, limiting capital availability for investment and growth. The global rise in interest rates further increased the cost of this inefficiency.

Together, these factors created a clear trigger for management to improve treasury processes and tools.

The solution

Armacell responded by implementing a more centralised treasury framework designed to improve liquidity, automate execution, strengthen control and reduce reliance on fragmented banking structures.

The core of the solution was a multi-entity virtual account structure that gave subsidiaries full access to central liquidity without requiring physical cash concentration or daylight overdraft limits, allowing liquidity to be mobilised while maintaining operational autonomy.

This was complemented by a cross-currency notional pool, offsetting cash positions across currencies, reducing borrowing costs and improving the economic use of the Group’s liquidity.

Payment-on-behalf-of structures combined with the implementation of Bloomberg’s FXGO further optimised FX management.

A critical success factor was seamless host-to-host connectivity, enabling automated payment and statement flows between Armacell’s ERP, Global EBICS, the newly implemented FIS Integrity treasury management system and Citi.

Finally, a global commercial cards program combined with the implementation of Rydoo’s expense management solution further improves process efficiency and ease of use.

Best practice and innovation

The judges recognised Armacell for demonstrating how a mid‑sized industrial group can achieve a step-change in treasury sophistication and financial impact by combining modern technology, disciplined execution and strong partnerships.

The transformation combined multi-entity virtual accounts, cross-currency notional pooling, payment centralisation, integrated FX processes and automated connectivity.

Key benefits

Improved liquidity to support Armacell’s ambitious growth and investment plans.
Lower interest expense through more efficient use of group cash.
Greater treasury control and visibility over cash, payment and FX exposure.
Reduced operational risk through automation, standardisation and less manual processing.

In summary, the project demonstrates how treasury can directly support corporate growth.

Satyajit Narvekar

Global Sales Lead – Industrials and Energy, Services, Citi Commercial Bank, UK

Armacell collaborated with Citi to execute a step-change in treasury, transforming a fragmented global structure into a fully centralised, self-funding liquidity model. Through multi-entity virtual accounts, cross-currency notional pooling, and seamless end-to-end integration, Armacell unlocked real-time global cash visibility and control. The solution eliminated over 200 bank accounts, automated cash concentration and mobilised trapped liquidity at scale. This cleared outstanding debt, built a strong cash buffer for new acquisitions and fuelled strategic growth, significantly boosting profitability and showcasing treasury as a key value driver.

in partnership with

The Adam Smith Awards are the industry benchmark for best practice and innovation in corporate treasury. The 2026 awards attracted 635 nominations. To find out more please visit treasurytoday.com/adam-smith-awards

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