Leading ladies
In recent years, there has been a global push to get more women into leadership positions in business and industry. Progress has differed between sectors, but the chemistry industry still falls decidedly behind much of the corporate world.
Data driven
One of the key, yet under-utilised, assets in any chemical company is its current and historical data, Stan Higgins reports Stan Higgins Industry has found many ways to collect data and use it inde...
Oil, gas and EVs
BP’s recent Energy Outlook draws up the battle lines between the more efficient use of petrol in cars, and the switch to electric vehicles. However, BP’s view is that the growth in electric vehicles will have a much smaller effect on how our need for oil will change than efficiency improvements in petrol based cars.
Trade mission
Wikipedia states that a ‘trade mission is an international trip by government officials and business people that is organised by agencies of national or provincial governments for the purpose of exploring international business opportunities’. Business people who attend trade missions are typically introduced both to important business contacts and to well-placed government officials. A trade mission is a way in which countries or organisations can seek out potential buyers and sellers, usually after significant market research.
Special Consideration
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.
Supporting SMEs
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.