29.07.2010

‘Layer By Layer’

Turning Point - Business is finally looking up for Clariant; the Swiss-based specialty chemicals company posted an 18% increase in sales in local currencies for Q2 2010 over 2009 and reported growth across all businesses and regions. However, this does not mean the company is in a festive mood - Clariant is in the midst of a sweeping restructuring and remains cautiously optimistic about the remainder of 2010. more20.07.2010

An Evolving Model

Dow Corning jumped into unchartered waters back in 2002 with the launch of its Xiameter brand. Designed as an affordable way for the company's customers to buy standard silicones online, the business model was the first of its kind in the chemical industry. In 2009, the company revamped the model to offer more services to cater to more customer needs - making it something of an Amazon.com) for silicones.

Now that all Xiameter products can only be purchased via the website, many of the company's customers have to rethink the way they do business. more14.07.2010

Never Waste a Crisis

Resilience - The 16 months Lyondellbasell spent in Chapter11 was a time of belt tightening and strategic rethinking. Having emerged from bankruptcy in April with a net debt load reduced from over $24 billion to approximately $5 billion and a new top holding company - Lyondellbasell Industries NV - the company is planning a public listing on the New York Stock Exchange in Q3 of this year. more28.06.2010

The Birth of a Global Materials Company

When the news broke in November 2009 that both Dow and BASF were looking to sell their styrene assets, the race to find buyers was on. Now, seven months later, BASF still owns its assets, saying that they are performing well and that they are in no hurry to sell. Dow, however, recently closed the sale of its Styron unit to global private investment firm Bain Capital Partners. Now a standalone company, Styron is setting out to maintain its leading position in latex and polystyrene production. more22.06.2010

Successful Market Debut Despite Turbulent Times

According to calculations from the Institute for Research of Small and Midsize Businesses in Bonn (IfM), 208,000 start-up companies were founded in Germany in the first half of 2009, 0.2% more than in the same period of 2008. And the institute predicts that this upward trend will continue. One of the start-up founders in 2009 is Hans-Peter Beier. more28.05.2010

Time For Action

The German advertising tagline "greed is good" is now outmoded as a basic principle of purchasing. A low purchase price does not mean that a product is actually inexpensive. Therefore the saying, "Those who buy cheap buy twice" often applies. As it would seem, this commonplace insight for consumer goods also applies in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Quality obviously does not always correlate with price. more08.12.2009

Slowly But Surely: Short-Interviews with Hans Wijers, Steven Sterin, Patrick Jany, Curt Espeland, ...

Interview with Steven Serin, Celanese
How has 2009 been for your company from a financial standpoint? more07.12.2009

Taking The Next Step: Interview with Hendrik Abma

Accountability - The Responsible Care (RC) program is not just for makers of chemicals; distributors also see themselves called upon to do their part in promoting environmental and health and safety initiatives within the industry and beyond. The year 2009 has been a busy one for Hendrik Abma, director general of the European Association of Chemical Distributors (FECC); he recently gave CHEManager Europe an update on the progress that has been made within the FECC regarding RC. more