Speciality chemicals are very special indeed. They enable industry and society to operate at all levels and touch almost every human activity. Unlike fine chemicals, where purity at the molecular level is crucial to their efficacy, especially for pharmaceuticals or agrochemicals, the sale of a speciality product is nearly always made on the basis of performance as much as composition.
In the UK, too much emphasis is given to the scientific and academic elements of the innovation landscape. This may be why much of our county's R&D is forever destined to remain on the shelves of the inventors.