DevEX Product Lifecycle Management and Specialty Chemicals
Specialty Chemical corporations must play a unique balancing act. They typically sell directly to other corporations—not to consumers. However, it is the demands of the consumers of these companies that often impact their own longevity.
According to Plunkett Research, the global economic crisis of the past few years is directly responsible for the downward change of plastic consumption. This change has resulted in plastic plant shutdowns, such as those producing ethylene (by as much as 30% in the US Gulf Coast). The US is not alone as China’s plastic import rippled around the world.
China- 9.3%
US- down 18.5%
EU- down 17.0%
Japan- down 7.0%
In addition to the sluggish plastic import market, the petrochemical plants in the Middle East came to a total standstill with refinery projects being delayed, downsized, or canceled completely.
Complicating this further is the huge environmental movement against off-shore drilling due to the disaster seen in the US Gulf Coast in April 2010. But there is a bright spot (literally). Newer technologies and organics have shown that specialty chemicals can create products that consumers will demand and more importantly—buy.
From polymers used for high efficiency solar cells to bio plastics, environmentalists are finding that there is common ground with the researchers.
In addition to the solar cells, developers are tapping into the technology of nanotechnology to discover how the properties change at the micro level for chemicals and coatings. These discoveries may still be at the very infancy level, but hold distinctive opportunities.
Even greater possibilities lie in the enterprises that have now been created from the mergers that have been created from the giants of Specialty Chemicals. Aligning resources and acquiring customers, they have assured themselves of a longer future for the time-being.
As Specialty Chemical companies now seek to emerge from the economic crisis, they must discover how to harness their innovation, avoid the hazardous substances countries are banning, ensure compliance, and generate the documentation their customers need for their own validation.