Hillenbrand, Inc. (HI): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money

Ever wondered how Hillenbrand, Inc. navigated the complex industrial landscape to achieve revenues nearing $739 million in a single quarter of fiscal 2024? This diversified global company, with deep roots and a forward-looking strategy focused on highly engineered processing solutions, recently expanded its portfolio through significant acquisitions like the Schenck Process Food and Performance Materials business. Are you curious about the strategic pivots and operational mechanics that drive its financial performance and market standing? Delve deeper to understand the evolution, ownership structure, and core business model fueling Hillenbrand's continued relevance.

Hillenbrand, Inc. (HI) History

Hillenbrand's roots trace back over a century, starting with a different focus than its current industrial profile. Understanding its journey provides crucial context for evaluating its present strategy and market position.

Hillenbrand, Inc.'s Founding Timeline

Year established

The company's origins lie in the founding of Batesville Casket Company in 1906.

Original location

Batesville, Indiana, USA.

Founding team members

John A. Hillenbrand acquired the struggling Batesville Casket Company and revitalized it.

Initial capital/funding

Specific initial funding details are characteristic of private family enterprises of the era and not publicly detailed; growth was primarily organic and funded through operations in the early years.

Hillenbrand, Inc.'s Evolution Milestones

Hillenbrand, Inc.'s Transformative Moments

The 2008 Spin-Off

Separating from Hill-Rom allowed Hillenbrand, Inc. to forge its own path, initially balancing the stable Batesville business with a new mandate for industrial diversification through acquisition.

Aggressive Industrial Expansion (2010-2019)

A series of significant acquisitions, culminating in the large-scale Milacron deal, fundamentally reshaped the company from a death care provider with industrial interests into a major global diversified industrial player. This period set the stage for future strategic changes. You can learn more about who is investing following these changes by Exploring Hillenbrand, Inc. (HI) Investor Profile: Who’s Buying and Why?

The Batesville Divestiture (2023)

Selling its founding business was a landmark decision, completing the transformation into a pure-play industrial company focused on processing technologies and systems. This strategic pivot significantly altered its revenue composition and growth profile heading into 2024.

Hillenbrand, Inc. (HI) Ownership Structure

Hillenbrand, Inc. operates as a publicly traded entity, meaning its shares are available for purchase by the general public on the stock exchange. This structure results in a diverse ownership base, primarily composed of large institutional investors alongside individual shareholders and company insiders.

Hillenbrand, Inc.'s Current Status

As of the end of 2024, Hillenbrand, Inc. is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol HI. Being a public company subjects it to regulatory oversight by bodies like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), requiring transparent financial reporting and adherence to corporate governance standards. This transparency is crucial for investors evaluating the company's strategy and performance, which aligns with its stated goals outlined in the Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Hillenbrand, Inc. (HI).

Hillenbrand, Inc.'s Ownership Breakdown

The ownership landscape of Hillenbrand is dominated by institutional investors, reflecting confidence from large financial entities. Insider ownership, while smaller, indicates management's stake in the company's success.

Hillenbrand, Inc.'s Leadership

Guiding Hillenbrand, Inc. at the close of 2024 is a seasoned executive team responsible for strategic direction and operational execution. Key figures include:

• Kimberly K. Ryan: President and Chief Executive Officer
• Robert VanHimbergen: Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
• Carole Phillips: Senior Vice President and Chief Procurement Officer
• Nicholas R. Farrell: Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
• Leaders of major business segments (e.g., Advanced Process Solutions, Molding Technology Solutions) also play critical roles in day-to-day management and strategy implementation.

This leadership structure ensures accountability and steers the company towards achieving its financial and operational objectives.

Hillenbrand, Inc. (HI) Mission and Values

Hillenbrand's operational philosophy extends beyond mere financial performance, focusing on a core purpose and values that guide its long-term strategy and daily activities. Understanding this cultural framework is essential alongside analyzing its financial standing, detailed further in Breaking Down Hillenbrand, Inc. (HI) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Hillenbrand's Core Purpose

The company articulates its driving force through a defined purpose and core values.

Official mission statement

While often expressed through their core purpose, the underlying mission focuses on delivering engineered processing solutions and services.

Vision statement

The company's vision centers on being a world-class global industrial company, achieving sustainable growth and creating long-term value for shareholders and stakeholders.

Company slogan

Shape What Matters For Tomorrow™

Core Values

Guiding principles form the bedrock of Hillenbrand's corporate culture:

• Integrity
• Respect
• Collaboration
• Excellence
• Courage

These values are intended to permeate all levels of the organization, influencing decision-making and interactions, ultimately contributing to the company's goal of sustainable value creation, reflected in performance metrics reported through the 2024 fiscal year.

Hillenbrand, Inc. (HI) How It Works

Hillenbrand, Inc. functions as a diversified global industrial company, engineering, manufacturing, and servicing highly specialized processing equipment and solutions across various industries. It primarily grows through strategic acquisitions and the application of its proprietary operating model to enhance performance, achieving approximately $3.27 billion in revenue for fiscal year 2024.

Hillenbrand, Inc.'s Product/Service Portfolio

Hillenbrand, Inc.'s Operational Framework

Operations are guided by the Hillenbrand Operating Model (HOM), a system focused on lean principles, continuous improvement, strategic deployment, and talent development to drive efficiency and profitable growth. This framework underpins its manufacturing processes across global facilities, ensuring quality control for complex engineered systems. The company manages intricate global supply chains to source specialized materials and components, integrating acquired businesses effectively through the HOM. A significant part of its operation involves providing extensive aftermarket parts and service, fostering customer loyalty and generating recurring revenue streams.

Hillenbrand, Inc.'s Strategic Advantages

Hillenbrand possesses several key strategic advantages that bolster its market position and financial results.

• Leadership positions in highly engineered, niche industrial markets globally.
• A diversified portfolio across end markets like plastics, food, and chemicals, reducing reliance on any single sector. Its Advanced Process Solutions segment contributed roughly $2.1 billion and Molding Technology Solutions added about $1.17 billion in FY2024 revenue.
• A proven competency in identifying, acquiring, and integrating complementary businesses to expand capabilities and market reach.
• The standardized Hillenbrand Operating Model which drives operational excellence, cost efficiencies, and synergy realization across its diverse business units.
• Strong engineering talent and a focus on innovation to develop application-specific solutions for customers.
• An extensive global sales, distribution, and service network providing critical aftermarket support. You can explore a deeper dive into its financial standing here: Breaking Down Hillenbrand, Inc. (HI) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Hillenbrand, Inc. (HI) How It Makes Money

Hillenbrand generates revenue primarily through the design, manufacture, and service of highly engineered industrial processing equipment and systems, along with plastic processing machinery and aftermarket parts and service.

Hillenbrand's Revenue Breakdown

Hillenbrand's Business Economics

The company's economic engine relies on selling highly specialized, mission-critical equipment and systems across diverse end markets, including plastics, food, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and durable goods. Pricing strategies often blend value-based approaches for highly differentiated technology and cost-plus models for more standardized components and services. Key economic drivers include global industrial capital expenditures, demand cycles in specific end markets like plastics processing, raw material costs (steel, polymers), and the successful integration of acquisitions, which is a core part of their growth strategy. The business model emphasizes lifecycle revenue, capturing value not just from initial equipment sales but also from recurring aftermarket parts and service, which typically carry higher margins. Understanding the Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Hillenbrand, Inc. (HI) provides context for their long-term strategic economic goals.

Hillenbrand's Financial Performance

Analyzing Hillenbrand's financial health requires looking at key performance indicators from its fiscal year 2024, which ended September 30, 2024. Total revenue reached approximately $3.26 billion. The company maintained solid profitability, reporting a gross profit of $1.16 billion, translating to a gross profit margin of about 35.5%. Adjusted Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (Adjusted EBITDA), a key metric used by management to assess operational performance, stood at $563 million, yielding an Adjusted EBITDA margin of approximately 17.3%. Net income attributable to Hillenbrand for the fiscal year was $140.1 million. Strong cash generation is also evident, with cash flow from operations reported at $333 million for the year, underscoring the underlying financial stability and operational efficiency of the business model.

Hillenbrand, Inc. (HI) Market Position & Future Outlook

Hillenbrand continues its strategic transformation into a global industrial company, focusing on growth within its Advanced Process Solutions segment following key acquisitions in 2023 and 2024. The future outlook hinges on successful integration of these businesses and capitalizing on secular growth trends in plastics, food, and recycling markets, while managing the mature Batesville segment.

Competitive Landscape

Opportunities & Challenges

Industry Position

As of 2024, Hillenbrand is positioning itself as a key player in specialized industrial processing equipment and systems through its Advanced Process Solutions (APS) segment, which now accounts for over 75% of total revenue. This segment leverages technology for compounding, extrusion, and material handling across resilient end markets. While still a leader in the North American death care market via its Batesville segment, the company's strategic focus has clearly shifted towards industrial growth, driven by acquisitions like Schenck Process Food and Performance Materials (FPM) and Coperion. Understanding the company's financial standing is vital to assessing its ability to execute this strategy; you can explore this further here: Breaking Down Hillenbrand, Inc. (HI) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors. The company aims to leverage its scale and engineering capabilities within the APS segment to capture market share in complex process industries globally.