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Exploring the potential impact of Brexit on the chemical industry

With Brexit officially underway, the UK has entered the transition period during which arrangements affecting the chemical industry will be made. The chemical sector produces around £50 billion worth of exports annually, and 60% of this goes directly to the European Union [1]. 75% of our chemical imports also come from the EU [1], making Brexit a critical time for the sector. The future of trading is yet to be established. Now is a pivotal period during which the chemical industry, stakeholders and the government need to work together to determine this future, in order to allow for a continuation of chemistry enabled growth.

Spotlight

Scharlab,S.L.

Headquartered in Barcelona (Spain), Scharlab has experienced an outstanding growth in the last few decades. This has led us to establish subsidiaries in 5 countries and enabled us to develop a presence worldwide through a distribution network that covers over 100 countries. The company was founded in 1949 in Barcelona under the name of F.E.R.O.S.A. as a company to synthesise organic compounds. In 1954 this company was bought over by Paul Scharlau, a second generation German in Spain. He then came to an agreement with the German company Dr. Theodor Schuchardt to distribute their laboratory chemicals and to manufacture in Spain under licence. In 1970, Schuchardt, was sold to Merck-Darmstadt and FEROSA had no alternative but to start selling chemicals under a different name and thus the Scharlau brand was born in 1971. Thousands of purification processes were consequently perfected to offer reagents of exceptional purity.

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Petrochemicals themselves remain in short supply. This is partly because of reduced feedstock from refineries, a consequence of the pandemic-related collapse in transportation fuels demand.Global petrochemical supply is still edging back to something like normal following the US winter storms in February, during which most US capacity was shut down. A point of discussion is whether containers will become available in the right places at the right prices to relieve tightness in the European polyethylene (PE) market, once US supply has normalised. The container issue is making it difficult to move PE and polypropylene (PP) cargoes from Asia to Europe.Market intelligence from the US-based ICIS CDI team indicates that enough container freight space will be available to resume significant shipments of US PE to Europe, albeit at high prices. It will be several more weeks before domestic pipelines have been refilled, enabling US producers to refocus on exports, added CDI.

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How Leading Chemical Companies Protect Customer Data Online

Article | July 20, 2022

Cybersecurity concerns must be considered in order for the chemical sector to succeed with digital commerce; simply listing your products on an online store and crossing your fingers won't cut it. It is crucial to pick a spouse who is aware of these hazards and has a strong defense in place. It is evident that the sector has massive potential for online sales, but selling chemicals online is different from selling common consumer goods online. Who your consumers are and how you gather and maintain data about them raise severe security and privacy problems. Chemical company leaders have every right to be concerned about the privacy of their data, given that one cyber attack occurs every 11 seconds. However, they should still go online because there is too much business risk in not taking advantage of the digital opportunity. Deloitte estimates that the chemical sector alone sold over $27 billion worth of goods online in 2020. More than half (58%) of chemical purchasers reportedly stated that they would transfer providers if their demands, which include demands for a fantastic digital experience, were not delivered. The objective is to limit risk and create a secure digital sales environment rather than dismissing e-commerce due to cybersecurity issues. Setting up the appropriate IT infrastructure: Building for convenience and security is possible thanks to new IT technologies. Emphasis on confirming identification: Always be aware of who you are dealing with, regardless of whether they came through a digital or physical means. Offering simple (and safe) reorder alternatives to clients that have been verified. It's ideal for business owners in the chemical sector who want to test selling online but are concerned about data collecting, security, and privacy for my company and customers.

Read More
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NOBODY SHOULD be surprised that the developing world has fallen behind in the battle to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as the region is a long way from recovering from the pandemic.Evidence to this effect emerged last week in comments made by Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA). “In many emerging and developing economies, emissions are heading upwards while clean energy investments are faltering, creating a dangerous fault line in global efforts to reach climate and sustainable energy goals,” said Birol. At the current rate, carbon dioxide emissions from developing countries largely in Asia, Africa and Latin America are set to increase by 5bn tonnes/year over the next two decades, according to the IEA, as access to power increases.At present, around 785m people worldwide have no access to electricity. There are also 2.6bn people without access to clean cooking options.

Read More
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Spotlight

Scharlab,S.L.

Headquartered in Barcelona (Spain), Scharlab has experienced an outstanding growth in the last few decades. This has led us to establish subsidiaries in 5 countries and enabled us to develop a presence worldwide through a distribution network that covers over 100 countries. The company was founded in 1949 in Barcelona under the name of F.E.R.O.S.A. as a company to synthesise organic compounds. In 1954 this company was bought over by Paul Scharlau, a second generation German in Spain. He then came to an agreement with the German company Dr. Theodor Schuchardt to distribute their laboratory chemicals and to manufacture in Spain under licence. In 1970, Schuchardt, was sold to Merck-Darmstadt and FEROSA had no alternative but to start selling chemicals under a different name and thus the Scharlau brand was born in 1971. Thousands of purification processes were consequently perfected to offer reagents of exceptional purity.

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