• Imagine a smaller Danaher or Roper Technologies for industrial process solutions, but with a unique legacy as the leading manufacturer of caskets.

• A diversified industrial manufacturer in the vein of Dover Corporation, which also happens to be the top casket maker in the U.S.

• Advanced Process & Material Handling Systems: Industrial equipment and integrated systems for processing, conveying, feeding, and weighing bulk materials across diverse manufacturing sectors.
• Hot Runner Systems: Precision-engineered systems that control the flow and temperature of molten plastic into injection molds, optimizing part quality and production efficiency.
• Injection Molding Machines: Machines used to produce plastic parts by injecting molten material into a mold under high pressure.
• Mold Components & Industrial Supplies: Standardized and custom components for plastic injection molds, along with various auxiliary equipment and supplies for manufacturing operations.

Hillenbrand (HI) primarily sells to other companies (B2B).

Major Customers and Customer Categories:

1. Industrial Processing Companies (Advanced Process Solutions Segment)

Through its Advanced Process Solutions (APS) segment (which includes brands like Coperion, Herbold Meckesheim, and Rotex), Hillenbrand provides highly engineered industrial processing equipment and systems. Its customers are diverse and operate globally across various industrial sectors. Rather than a few specific "major customers" by name (as sales are distributed across thousands of industrial companies worldwide and no single customer typically accounts for a significant portion of revenue), Hillenbrand serves a broad range of companies within industries such as:

• Plastics processing (e.g., compounding, extrusion, recycling)
• Chemical production (e.g., polymers, specialty chemicals)
• Food & beverage manufacturing (e.g., snack foods, pet food, confectionery)
• Mineral processing (e.g., mining, aggregates, cement)
• Recycling (e.g., plastics, metals)

2. Funeral Homes (Batesville Segment)

Through its Batesville segment, Hillenbrand is a leading manufacturer and provider of funeral products, including caskets, urns, and other memorialization products. Its direct customers are funeral homes. While Batesville serves a vast network of independent funeral homes, it also supplies to larger, publicly traded funeral service providers, which include:

• Service Corporation International (NYSE: SCI)
• Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE: CSV)

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Kimberly K. Ryan, President and Chief Executive Officer

Kimberly K. (Kim) Ryan has served as a director and President and CEO of Hillenbrand since December 2021. Prior to becoming CEO, Ms. Ryan was the Company's Executive Vice President, a role she assumed in June 2021 as part of a transition. Before that, she served as Senior Vice President of Hillenbrand and President of the Company's Coperion business from 2015-2021, and also oversaw Hillenbrand's Rotex business during part of that period. She began her career with Batesville Casket Company in 1989 and held various positions in finance, strategy, operations, logistics, information technology, and commercial division leadership within Batesville and Hillenbrand's former parent company. Ms. Ryan also served as President of Batesville from 2011 to 2015. Since 2014, she has served on the Board of Directors of Kimball International, Inc., a public manufacturing company, including as a member and former Chair of the Audit Committee.

Megan Walke, Interim Chief Financial Officer, Vice President, Corporate Controller and Chief Accounting Officer

Megan Walke has been the Interim Chief Financial Officer at Hillenbrand since June 2025. She also holds the role of Vice President, Corporate Controller and Chief Accounting Officer, which she has held since May 2022. Ms. Walke has been with Hillenbrand for 14 years, holding key positions including Director of Financial Reporting and Director of Internal Audit. Prior to joining Hillenbrand, she spent nearly a decade in public accounting at Ernst & Young LLP. Ms. Walke has also served on the board of the Ripley County Community Foundation since February 2023.

J. Michael Whitted, Senior Vice President Corporate Development

J. Michael (Mike) Whitted has been Hillenbrand's Senior Vice President Corporate Development since June 2018. Before joining Hillenbrand, Mr. Whitted served as Vice President, Corporate Development for SPX Corporation and SPX Flow, Inc. from 2001 to 2015. Prior to that, he was a Vice President for Bear Stearns from 1998 to 2001, where he led corporate finance and M&A advisory transactions. His experience also includes corporate finance and M&A advisory roles at CIBC World Markets, Bankers Trust, and First Chicago NBD.

Ulrich Bartel, Senior Vice President and Group President

Ulrich Bartel is Senior Vice President of Hillenbrand and has served as President of Coperion since 2021. He is Group President, overseeing Coperion's Performance Materials division, Rotex, and Coperion's Aftermarket division. Before leading Coperion, Mr. Bartel was President of Coperion's former Polymer division and has held several other positions within Coperion, including Vice President of Compounding Machines from 2013 to 2020.

Ling An-Heid, President of Mold-Masters and Senior Vice President

Ling An-Heid has been President of Mold-Masters since 2017 and Senior Vice President of Hillenbrand since November 2019. Before these roles, she served as President of Mold-Masters Americas and Asia from 2013 to 2017. Ms. An-Heid joined the Applications Design Group at Mold-Masters in 1991 and was instrumental in developing the region as president of Mold-Masters Asia until 2013.

The key risks to Hillenbrand (symbol: HI) primarily stem from global economic conditions, the complexities of its strategic transformation through acquisitions and divestitures, and evolving regulatory landscapes, particularly concerning sustainability.

1. Macroeconomic Headwinds and Softened Demand: Hillenbrand has experienced lower-than-expected volumes across many of its end markets, with customer decisions for mid-size capital equipment projects being significantly delayed. This is attributed to ongoing global macroeconomic challenges such as sustained inflation, high interest rates, and geopolitical uncertainty, leading to declines in revenue, EBITDA, and earnings per share. The Advanced Process Solutions segment, in particular, has seen an 11% decrease in net revenue due to lower capital equipment volume.
2. Acquisition Integration and Strategic Transformation Risks: The company is undergoing a strategic transformation involving both divestitures and acquisitions. The integration of acquired businesses, such as FPM and Linxis, presents substantial challenges. These include diverting management's attention, difficulties in maintaining employee morale and retaining key personnel, challenges in retaining existing business relationships with customers and suppliers, and unanticipated issues in consolidating corporate infrastructures and information technology systems. Failure to successfully integrate these companies could lead to unrealized benefits, increased costs, and decreased revenue.
3. Regulatory Changes and Sustainability Risks: Hillenbrand faces financial and reputational risks due to new sustainability-related regulations. These regulations, which may include carbon taxes and greenhouse gas restrictions, could necessitate costly changes in manufacturing processes or sourcing materials. Such changes could increase operational expenses, complicate compliance efforts, and impact the company's suppliers and customers, potentially harming its financial condition and reputation if not adequately addressed.

Hillenbrand (HI) is an industrial technology company primarily serving the plastics industry through its Advanced Process Solutions (APS) and Molding Technology Solutions (MTS) segments, providing equipment for plastics processing, compounding, and molding. A clear emerging threat is the global shift away from virgin plastics and towards a circular economy, coupled with increasing material substitution.

• Reduced Demand for Virgin Plastics: Growing regulatory pressure (e.g., bans on single-use plastics, extended producer responsibility schemes) and evolving consumer preferences are driving companies to reduce their reliance on virgin plastics. This directly threatens the long-term demand for new equipment designed primarily for virgin plastic production and processing, which forms a significant portion of HI's market.
• Acceleration of Material Substitution: Industries are increasingly exploring and adopting alternative materials such as paper, glass, metal, and advanced bioplastics for applications traditionally served by conventional plastics. If these alternatives gain substantial market share, it could shrink the addressable market for HI's core plastics processing machinery.
• Increased Focus on Recycling and Alternative Feedstocks: While Hillenbrand offers solutions for recycling, a rapid and profound shift towards mechanical and chemical recycling, or the use of bio-based feedstocks, may require significant retooling, research and development investment, and adaptation of their product portfolio. It also poses a risk if competitors gain a disruptive advantage in these evolving segments or if the profitability of supplying these new lines is lower than traditional virgin plastic lines.

This trend represents a fundamental transformation of the plastics value chain, analogous to how streaming disrupted physical media, by altering the core demand for the products that HI's equipment helps produce.

Hillenbrand (NYSE: HI) operates primarily through two segments: Advanced Process Solutions and Molding Technology Solutions. The company divested its Batesville Casket Company subsidiary in 2022.

Advanced Process Solutions

This segment provides highly-engineered process and material handling equipment, systems, and aftermarket parts and services to various industries, including durable plastics, food, and recycling. Key technologies encompass compounding, extrusion, material handling, conveying, mixing, ingredient automation, portion processing, and screening and separating equipment.

• Industrial Control for Process Manufacturing Market: The global industrial control for process manufacturing market was valued at approximately USD 86.58 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach about USD 166.29 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 8.5% from 2025 to 2032.
• Industrial Machinery Market: The global industrial machinery market size was estimated at USD 655.53 billion in 2023 and is predicted to exceed USD 1,538.81 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 8.91% from 2023 to 2033.
• Industrial Services Market: The global industrial services market was valued at approximately USD 41.78 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach about USD 64.61 billion by 2032, with a CAGR of 5.60% during the forecast period of 2025 to 2032. Another report estimates the global industrial services market size at USD 32.65 billion in 2023, projected to reach USD 50.09 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 6.5% from 2024 to 2030.

Molding Technology Solutions

This segment is a global leader in highly-engineered equipment, systems, and aftermarket parts and services for the plastic technology processing industry. Its portfolio includes injection molding and extrusion equipment, hot runner systems, process control systems, and mold bases and components. It serves industries such as automotive, consumer goods, medical, packaging, construction, and electronics.

• Plastic Processing Machinery Market: The global plastic processing machinery market size was estimated at USD 24.9 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 32.5 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 4.6% from 2025 to 2030. Another source states the global plastic processing machinery market was valued at USD 22.66 billion in 2024, projected to grow to USD 34.62 billion by 2032, exhibiting a CAGR of 5.6% during the forecast period. The market size is also forecast to increase by USD 3.4 billion at a CAGR of 3.3% between 2024 and 2029. Furthermore, the plastic processing equipment market is projected to grow from USD 38.0 billion in 2025 to USD 52.0 billion by 2035, at a CAGR of 3.2%.

• Realizing Commercial Cross-Selling Opportunities and Synergies from Acquisitions: Hillenbrand is actively pursuing commercial synergies and accelerating cross-selling initiatives, particularly within its Food, Health, and Nutrition (FHN) sector. This involves leveraging the expanded geographic footprint and combined capabilities of its acquired businesses, such as Coperion, Linxis, and Schenck Process Food and Performance Materials (FPM), to offer integrated solutions to customers globally.
• Strategic Focus and Expansion in High-Growth End Markets: The company is strategically reinvesting in and prioritizing its FHN segment, which is experiencing robust demand for modular food processing systems and sterile packaging solutions, particularly in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region and Europe. Additionally, Hillenbrand is targeting growth in durable plastics and recycling markets, driven by an expanding global middle class and an increased emphasis on sustainability.
• Innovation and New Product Development: Hillenbrand is committed to driving revenue growth through continuous innovation and new product development. This involves investments in research and development (R&D) and digital service offerings to enhance its position in factory automation and to introduce innovative solutions that address customer challenges, leveraging shared technology across its enterprise.
• Growth in High-Margin Aftermarket Parts and Services: A significant focus for Hillenbrand is expanding its aftermarket parts and services, which represent a high-margin and recurring revenue stream. The company is investing in digital service offerings to further grow these essential revenue channels by providing value-added services and support for its installed equipment base.
• Geographic Expansion, particularly in the Asia-Pacific Region: Hillenbrand views supply chain localization and expansion into the Asia-Pacific market as crucial to securing future demand and driving revenue growth. This strategic geographic focus aims to capitalize on emerging market opportunities and strengthen its global presence.

Share Repurchases

• Hillenbrand authorized a new $300 million share repurchase program effective December 2, 2021, replacing a prior program.
• The company completed $150 million in share repurchases through November 15, 2021, under the prior program.
• Annual share buybacks amounted to $203.9 million in fiscal year 2022.

Share Issuance

• No significant dollar amount of shares issued for capital raising purposes was identified in the last 3-5 years; changes in outstanding shares are influenced by repurchases and restricted stock unit grants for compensation.

Outbound Investments

• Hillenbrand acquired the Schenck Process Food and Performance Materials (FPM) business in September 2023, significantly expanding its presence in the food and recycling industries.
• In 2022, Hillenbrand made several acquisitions, including Peerless Food Equipment (December), LINXIS Group (July), and Herbold (June).
• The company completed the divestiture of its TerraSource Global business on October 25, 2021, receiving a five-year note with an initial principal amount of $25.6 million and retaining a 49% ownership interest.
• On March 31, 2025, Hillenbrand completed the divestiture of a 51% majority stake in its Milacron injection molding and extrusion business to focus on core advanced processing technologies.

Capital Expenditures

• Capital expenditures for fiscal year 2024 were approximately $54 million.
• Expected capital expenditures for fiscal year 2025 are approximately $40 million.
• Capital expenditures are primarily focused on supporting the company's highly-engineered processing equipment and solutions across industries such as plastics, food, and pharmaceuticals.