ICIS Chemical Business | From Our Own Correspondent

You would think that the chemical industry is too old and stodgy to jump into the social media frenzy. But to my surprise, a growing number of companies and trade organizations seem to just fit right in and enjoy its benefits.

Since joining Twitter in January 2009, I found that sectors such as pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, biofuel, and consumer products were already veterans of this medium. Nowadays, I see chemical firms such as DuPont, BASF, INEOS, Evonik, DSM, LANXESS, Cognis, Arkema, AkzoNobel, Dow Corning, PolyOne, and Eastman, as well as oil companies like Chevron, Shell, BP, Petrobras, Saudi Aramco, Conoco-Phillips, and ExxonMobil tweeting cheerfully about their latest products, activities, CEO speeches, and video/webcasts.

Groups such as the American Chemistry Council (ACC), the Society of Chemical Manufacturers & Affiliates (SOCMA), the Soap and Detergent Association (SDA), the American Oil Chemists Society (AOCS), BIO, the European Association of Chemical Distributors (FECC), and the British Plastics Federation (BPF) are all proactively fighting negative publicity via social media.

An ingenious recent initiative from the ACC is promoting the benefits of plastic via its Plastics Make It Possible campaign, which uses Twitter, Facebook and blogs.

Another interesting twist is the use of Facebook and YouTube, where companies and trade groups are posting videos and photos outside of their official websites. I was enthralled by a YouTube video posted by Novozymes, where company employees sing about their Biobusiness 2018 strategy. Their song kept playing in my head for hours!

Being a journalist and a blogger, social media is a godsend. Instead of spending countless hours searching for news and information, this comes to me in the form of RSS (Real Simple Syndication) feeds, and Twitter and Facebook updates. The business networking site LinkedIn also allows me to get updates on a person's company position (or lack thereof) as well as post a shout-out to anybody in my network interested in participating in an article. Talk about energy efficiency!

The world of communication is changing, and ICIS Chemical Business is definitely following along. Talk to us and give us your opinions on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, ICIS blogs, and ICIS connect!

OTHER INDUSTRY SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN FOLLOWING:

On Facebook: 

American Chemistry Council (ACC), American Chemical Society (ACS), Society of Chemical Industry (SCI), US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF), North East of England Process Industry Cluster (NEPIC), American Oil Chemists Society (AOCS), Gulf Petrochemicals & Chemicals Association (GPCA), EuropaBio, National Biodiesel Board (NBB), Algal Biomass Organization (ABO), Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO)

On LinkedIn:

American Chemistry Council (ACC), Society of Chemical Manufacturers & Affiliates (SOCMA), American Oil Chemists Society (AOCS), Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), North East Process Industry Cluster (NEPIC)

On YouTube:

Society of Plastics Industry (SPI), American Chemistry Council (ACC), US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

NOTE: These are just a few of many out there so feel free to comment and add links to this post.


  

My local authority gave me an Owl the other day. It's not a pest control measure, nor is it because I live in Hogwart's borough.
I got the Owl because my local authority, the London Borough of Southwark would like us all to save energy. Southwark was by one measure in 2005 the 19th most deprived borough in the England. It is one of the places in the UK where people spend a relatively high proportion of their income on heating.
Politicians are driven by, the possibility of being voted out. One of the tactics to avoid this is to give people money. In UK General Elections up to 1997, this manifested itself by cuts in the rate the Bank of England charged the companies that lend mortgages on houses. Local authorities don't have that kind of power, but they can tap into centrally funded projects that save people money, and give them things. Savvy residents look for freebies and batten on hard. Which is what we've done. So because I live in Southwark and Southwark wants us all to spend less on energy we get, help with loft insulation, radiator panels, highly efficient fluorescent light bulbs, heavy-duty balloons to shove up one of our unused chimneys, and the Owl .
The Owl monitors your instantaneous use of power. It clips onto the electricity supply near the fuse box and transmits the power you're using to a separate display, which updates about once every10 seconds through the day.
The Owl is both fascinating and terrifying. You turn on an old-fashioned light bulb and the number goes up a bit, you make a piece of toast and the number goes up considerably, you decide to tumble-dry some clothes. A cup of tea will not in this situation steady your nerves because using an electric kettle makes the numbers on your Owl blur.  Don't roast a chicken, bake a cake, boil potatoes and peas on different rings and look at the Owl. It is hard to believe that aluminium smelters could use as much energy.
Is the Owl affecting life at home? Yes it is, we turn lights out, we close doors, we huddle closer to our newly reflecting radiators during the coldest UK winter since 1963. One of us has even put on a woollen sweater, and filled up some draughty cracks. We are learning too, the Owl may be scary, but the Owl is our friend.   

The Brazilian people are known worldwide for their hospitality. As a journalist, I've had the privilege of visiting Brazil three times during my career.

The latest trip in November was to Sao Paolo, and then to Ribeirao Preto - a major sugarcane and agricultural municipality about an hour's flight from the big city.

It's one thing to get great treatment from your hosts - in this case it was UNICA, the Brazilian sugarcane industry association - but it's another thing when you're off entirely on your own.

And so I was, breaking off from the group in Riberao Preto after the sugarcane ethanol plant and sugarcane field tour to look for an Internet cafe to file my online stories.

The group was at a famous open-air restaurant and cafe called Pinguim (Penguin - pictured) where we would lounge around for hours until the shuttle bus took us to the airport.

But getting some directions to the nearest Internet cafe, I took off and also got a chance to explore the town. Following directions is not my forte - just ask my wife. When I arrived at where I thought I should be, I walked into a modern looking store with a some computers and friendly staff.

No one spoke English - and why should they? It's a local town with few if any tourists.

But with my broken Spanish and not a lick of the local Portuguese language , I managed to convey my desire to get onto the Internet.

The friendly staff accomodated, but once I sat down at the computer terminal, the realization sunk in that this was not an Internet cafe, but something like a mobile phone store.

So the staff gave me a computer terminal to use in the middle of their showroom floor - a computer supposed to be used for staff and customers.

Not looking the gift horse in the mouth, I busily typed away, filing my stories and catching up with the wife. Before I knew it, after having been there for almost two hours, I was handed a phone - a call for me? Here, in the store? Really?

"Hello? It's Joe from ICIS," I said. On the other end: "Hello Joe. I'm so sorry, but we need to close the store now."

Apparently the staff had called someone who could speak English and tell me the store was closing. I would have thought anyone else should have employed the universal language of kicking someone out - no English required!

I was so grateful and amazed at their hospitality and tolerance of a silly tourist with a notepad thinking this was the place to use the computer.

Ever helpful to the end, as the store closed, one of the staff pointed me to the real Internet cafe - across the street.

 

Photo credit: Sites-do-Brasil.com

By Fred Seelig/Houston

It's been about two months since we bought our 2006 Volkswagen Jetta - with a turbodiesel engine.

Our European readers will be more familiar than those in the US with what that means: great fuel economy and a motor with internals that should last twice as long as a gasoline engine, but with a higher up-front cost for features - such as turbochargers - that now enable diesels to perform comparably.

This is my first diesel car, but I've long believed that Rudolf Diesel's invention could give both the fuel-saving and environmental benefits, of hybrids, at a fraction of the cost, and with technology that has existed for the past 100 years.

Although diesel emissions are worse for people to breathe in the short run, they're less damaging for the planet in the long run. But with today's cleaner diesel, and cleaner diesel engines, emissions are much improved, and this "alternative" fuel is ready for US prime time, I believe. Green Car Journal even named the diesel Jetta as Green Car of the Year for 2009 - quite a snub to the pious Toyota Prius.

Diesel fuel, while common along US highways, is often unavailable off the beaten path. But I thought I had done my research, finding the nearest diesel-dispensing stations to our home, and even watching their price compared to gasoline.

So, I hate to admit that I didn't quite know what I was getting into. Turbodiesels, it turns out, require special (read: hard to find) motor oils that can simultaneously hold diesel's extra soot, and keep the tiny, delicate parts of the turbo nicely greased. Don't dare take one of these to a quickie lube type of place for an oil change.

And diesel has other issues - like the fact it is easily contaminated with water. Oh, and also by algae, mold and bacteria. No, this ain't biodiesel. Our regular, dead-dinosaur diesel has become contaminated (or should that be "infected"? Or "infested"?) with algae. Like a surgeon saving your gallbladder to show you, the dealership gave me a clear, plastic bottle of my very own diesel, with dark flakes of algae floating in it. The clerk at the auto parts store thought I was crazy when I said I needed a bottle of biocide to kill bugs in my diesel.

Now I know: Before we buy a flat-screen TV, I'm gonna make sure the damn thing can't come down with athlete's foot.

BY SPECIAL GUEST CAROL PICCARO, PRESIDENT AND CEO, U.S. CHEMICALS

Golf is one of the perks of my business, and I feel grateful for the opportunity to entertain and be entertained on the "almighty" course. While I've learned much about the game and the people I have played with over the last 20 years, this particular day it was a "golf first."

But going back, I still remember the day a very patient supplier offered to teach me the sport. I felt like I was just admitted to "the club." And I was hooked. I wanted to have all future meetings outside, without desks or tables, phones or Blackberries - just walking down the course, sharing stories.

What luck to be out of the office, enjoying some of the most wonderful settings in the country - and all this for "work!"

Being in the chemical distribution industry, most of my golf rounds are with men. Therefore, I have a wonderful advantage at golf outings, especially when the longest drive competition is not gender-segregated.

In many cases, the women's tee box is a generous 150 yards in front of the men's. You connect, and you may very well be the recipient of a dozen golf balls and winner of the coveted "longest drive" competition. But then at the 19th hole, all the participants hoot and holler that a woman won the honor, which makes for a long walk to receive the prize.

I felt compelled to write this after traveling to Ohio to play golf with a vendor. Once again, I was the sole female golfer. I accepted the invite and agreed that caddies would be a treat.

I appreciate caddies and enjoy their company, as they move the game along, save time ball searching, and help with reading putts, yardage, and providing advice when choosing a golf club. Playing golf is similar to running a company - you need the assistance of a great caddie to shoulder the load.

As we walked up to our first tee, I was blown away to find four young, attractive women as our caddies. Each girl was more pleasant than the next, with a smile from ear to ear. They gladly embraced the work on a hot afternoon.

And for once, I was not in the minority - I had peers, women, and numbers in my favor! The teasing I received for forward tee boxes or a good drive was now met with five sets of eyes staring down the persecutor. It was a wonderful day, and truly the highlight of this noteworthy golf experience.

Photo credits: U.S. Chemicals, Carol Piccaro

Stephen Burns of the ICIS bureau in Houston writes of his recent trip to Colombia:

 

Many cities are known to us only by reputation. Paris has romance, London has pageantry, Rio de Janeiro has nightlife. Medellin has...Pablo Escobar?

 

It is almost 16 years since the violent death of the drug baron who for much of the world still defines that city. Escobar helped shape the image of chaos that Colombia still struggles to shake off.

 

Here's hoping it can, because the country deserves recognition for the progress that has put it back among the leading economies of Latin America.

 

A bad rap is hard to dislodge, though. Both the opportunities I have had to cover conferences in Colombia - Cartagena in 2004, and Medellin in 2009 - came my way because of the greater prudence of others.

 

The organizer of the latest conference acknowledged that the security issue loomed large for Americans in particular. But attendance from across the region was healthy and the choice of location was generally acclaimed as a success.

 

So what is a journalist with only a couple of spare hours to do in Medellin? Guidebooks talk of markets, the old town centre, and Botero statues.

 

But to a reporter, that would be like going to Rome and not seeing the Coliseum.

The hotel doorman translated my destinations to a taxi driver: Escobar's grave, and the scene of his bloody last stand.

 

Bravado evaporated as I was led across a well-kept cemetery, a magnificent showcase for the local flower industry. Did henchmen still watch over him, and watch over his visitors?  

 

Maybe so...I was surprised to find fresh flowers adorning a large, tidy grave. Later I learned that flowers are placed regularly by those who regard Escobar more as Robin Hood than as evil personified.

 

Escobar shares the wide grave - and the December 2, 1993 date on his headstone - with some relatives. It looks more like a little garden than the portal to hell I had envisaged.

 

The area where Escobar made his last stand was nicer than I expected, too, although the house had obviously been empty for a long time. Graffiti on the walls distinguished it from its neighbors.

 

But the grim look on the faces of two men working on the roof where Escobar died was enough to deter my taxi driver from stopping. On to the chubby Botero statues.

 

It is said that reputations come down in the elevator but go up the stairs. Medellin - and Colombia - found itself a long way down in the basement, but it's definitely moving on up. 

 

Video of Medellin, including Escobar's grave and last hideout: 

If an industry, group or person was able to reach the 100-year mark, this would definitely be a cause for celebration.

For synthetic rubber producer LANXESS, 2009 is officially the global rubber year as the company celebrated synthetic rubber's 100th anniversary last month in Cologne, Germany. Synthetic rubber was first developed and patented on September 12, 1909, by German chemical company Bayer. LANXESS was formerly Bayer's chemical and polymer business division, which was spun off in 2005.

During the event, LANXESS showed how man-made materials such as synthetic rubber could continue to thrive and remain indispensable for mankind, despite growing opposition from environmentalists to anything made from petroleum.

I was, however, amused when during the event's question-and-answer (Q&A) session, two European reporters boasted of their publications' more than 100-year-old pedigree in their introductions before proceeding to their questions.

Getting into the competitive spirit of whose publication is the oldest, I eagerly raised my hand. Did I have a burning question for the presenter at that time? No, but I also wanted to state ICIS Chemical Business's 138-year history.

I guess the event moderator sensed my intention and quickly wrapped up the Q&A session. Despite the missed opportunity, it dawned on me how LANXESS employees felt being part of a rich 100-year history.

ICIS Chemical Business's history goes back to 1881, when the former Oil, Paint and Drug (OPD) Reporter, based in downtown New York, began its operations. OPD was famous in the industry for its weekly lowdown on actual commercial conditions of the growing oil, paint, drug and chemical markets.

OPD, which then became Chemical Market Reporter, and is now part of ICIS Chemical Business, was able to survive more than a century of volatility within the chemical and publishing industries. Even now, as many print publications are in dire straits, ICIS Chemical Business will continue to evolve and become a better provider of chemical information, insight and analysis as we celebrate our 138th anniversary on October 18.

It is truly a pleasure to be a part of this historic publication and we look forward to our 200th anniversary!

See other old OPD/CMR photos on ICB's new facebook page!

By: Clay Boswell

The credit crisis has put a spotlight on the flow of money from the US to China - and back, through the purchase of US Treasury bonds. The relationship seems to defy logic, as if one country were paying another to buy its products.

I'm reminded of a science project I did in the sixth grade, a modified balsa wood airplane. Like other such craft, it had a propeller at the front. Typically, the propeller would be powered by a wound rubber band, to which it was directly attached. (Get your own here!) My innovation was to eliminate the rubber band and connect the propeller, by means of a crude gear, to a paddle wheel further back. No child prodigy, I imagined that air flowing past the airplane would spin the paddle wheel, which would turn the propeller, which would pull the airplane through the air, which would spin the paddle wheel, which would.... You get the idea.

Mrs. Birch, the school principal, complimented my imagination, sweet lady. "But you know, of course, that perpetual motion is impossible," she added. Yes, I nodded cautiously, wondering what "perpetual motion" meant.

I'm no longer a stranger to the laws of thermodynamics. Indeed, I often see analogous relationships in unlikely places - such as America's trade deficit and debtor status. The economy isn't a closed system, however, and new wealth is being created all the time, sometimes even more quickly than it is destroyed. Likewise, the long-term trend in living standards does not suggest entropic decay.

Still, there does seem to be something fundamentally unsustainable going on. The Chinese government has been worried for some time. Last week, a former vice-chairman of the Standing Committee and the current head of China's green energy drive, Cheng Siwei, said Beijing was not pleased that the US Federal Reserve had resorted to buying US treasury bonds, essentially printing money to buy its own debt. "If they keep printing money to buy bonds it will lead to inflation, and after a year or two the dollar will fall hard," he was quoted as saying in the UK's Daily Telegraph.

That's pretty much what happened to my airplane: it fell hard. But that's science, right? With the economy, on the other hand - the stakes are a bit higher. And yet, I wonder: Are we like test pilots in a jumbo jet designed by a child?

I was really looking forward to my visit to East Asia. As soon as the invitation for a press trip to Shanghai, China, dropped into my email inbox last year, I was very quick to respond and get down to the local embassy to arrange my visa.

Aside from the obvious networking and news opportunities the trip would provide, I was particularly excited about the prospect of snagging a few bargains in the high-tech stores around the city. With a favorable exchange rate and access to one of the most innovative and advanced electronics markets in the world, I made sure I converted plenty of currency.

Despite major jetlag upon arrival, I had a few hours to kill before my first few meetings, and found myself gesticulating wildly to a passing taxi driver, urging him to take me to the city center. I roamed the streets, taking in the spectacular skyline - the bulbous Pudong Tower, the looming skyscrapers and massive illuminated signage I'd seen so often in the movies.

It wasn't long before I was accosted by a guy at a dodgy-looking stall, pleading with me to take a look at his "quality" goods. Other pushy street vendors made similar offers, which I respectfully declined. I'd heard from a fellow journalist back home about the risks of buying items in some parts of the city; counterfeiting is still rife in China. So I did business only in legitimate stores, the ones that provided receipts and offered a selection of items bearing all the leading brand names.

Sadly, someone I was with was not so lucky. Returning home, the large capacity computer memory stick they'd bought corrupted all their data, their DVDs didn't play properly and their selection of branded clothing barely made it through the laundry in one piece.

These were bought from what appeared to be reputable dealers, but it's still pretty easy to fall foul of unscrupulous vendors in China. Earlier this month, the World Trade Organization (WTO) hoped to address the situation by ruling that China should ease its restrictions on imported goods. The BBC website commented that, "China's current limitations on the import of official US DVDs and other media products has created a large domestic counterfeit industry."

My friend would have probably considered a return visit if the WTO had acted a little sooner.

(Photo credit: d'n'c)

You never really notice the convenience of things until they're gone. Such was the case on my vacation to Ireland in August.

Visiting the Emerald Isle for the very first time, and for a week, my wife and I made the capital city of Dublin our home base as we explored the city and took several day tours.

Making a quick run to Supermacs, the fast-food chain bearing a strikingly close resemblance to McDonald's, I ordered four cheeseburgers, fries, some fried chicken, and a coffee and tea to go.

Just your usual unhealthy fast-food order - but lo and behold, no plastic bags for your takeout!

Ireland first slapped a tax on plastic bags in 2002 and usage dropped 90% within months. There are just no plastic bags to be seen anywhere.

Instead of the plastic bag you're used to getting in my home town of New York, you get a flimsy paper bag. Now that's fine for the food, but not ideal for carrying hot drinks back to the hotel.

And at the "convenience" store, whatever you buy, you haul out with your hands and arms - no bag is offered. Good luck carrying several bottles of water, milk, juice, potato chips, a cup of yogurt and a banana.

If you insist on having a bag, it will cost you 22 euro cents there. Call me cheap, but I was loathe to pay for something I'm used to getting for free.

Sure, there could be benefits to taxing plastic bags - the streets do look clean and same for the countryside. Maybe it's worth a bit of inconvenience, but that's debatable.

I missed the convenience of plastic bags. And don't get me started on the napkin situation. Restaurants were very sparing with the napkins, making a messy eater like me look even worse. At a local Burger King, there was a half-joking sign that said that if you took more than 10 napkins, you were a thief!

In August, Mexico City became the latest major metropolis to ban non-biodegradable plastic bags from the retail sector.

In most of the US, many feel it is our God-given right to get a free plastic bag with our purchase - whatever it is!

But then again, we also thought it was our divine right to drive gas-guzzling SUVs fueled with $1/gal gasoline.

 

Photo credit: Yvonne Chang