Specialty chemical industry:Managing transitions, creating value

摘要

Globally the chemical industry is passing through a challenging phase with margins squeeze, loss of consumer markets, and economic slow down in Asia Pacific, Latin America and South Asia, some of the fastest emerging markets.Feedstocks volatilities and non competitive raw materials, combined with high input costs and regulatory pressures, have been pushing the chemical industry and in particular, the fine and specialty chemicals to seek new growth options,The specialty chemical industry is bracing for a difficult year ahead, and economic revival in fast developing economies will have much to do with its pace of recovery. Besides the impact of sharp decreases in sales and profits, producers are grappling with a slump in demand and lack of access to credit. These trends are compounded by the slow down in automotive, construction and other user segments.Amidst this turmoil managing transitions and creating value has become central to the growth strategies of specialty chemical players in diverse markets such as coatings, additives, colorants, food ingredients, and water treatment.In this paper, Dr. Rajagopal focused on the strategies adopted by specialty chemical companies to survive in the highly competitive specialty chemical space.