The whole EPCA Berlin experience is captured for posterity in this video clip, shot in the lobby of the Berlin Intercontinental and the ICIS suite, and starring familiar faces from the world of petrochemicals as they rush about their business over three days in October 2009. Thanks to Stephen Burns of ICIS Houston for encapsulating the drama and passion of the event in this 2.19 minute video, with a jolly German oompah band backing track.
It's good to see that Lanxess is so delighted at winning the ICIS Company of the Year Award. Most of the Lanxess home page is set aside to celebrate the award, and the press release was translated into several languages. Apparently the employees are thrilled and their customers are impressed too.
"So much effort goes into the Top 100 - which has been a roaring success this year - and the Company of the Year Award and it's hugely encouraging to see the winning company taking the award so seriously. Great brand building for both of us. Lanxess is a worthy winner," says Nigel Davis, editor of Chemical Insight in his praise of Lara Mcnamee and the ICB team who put the list together.
Writing about writing - we are endlessly fascinated by ourselves. For some high quality journalistic navel-gazing, plus some sharp photos, see a new blog from my former boss, Andy Soloman: Global Journalism and New Media.
The ICIS Chemicals Confidential blog is two years old today. Like many difficult toddlers hitting the Terrible Twos, it is now moving into the difficult phase for blogs, where many just give up.
So many links to postings on other sites lead to defunct blogs, where the blogger just ran out of enthusiasm after two years, but Chemicals Confidential is happily thriving on its diet of gossip and trivia from the petrochemical industry.
The second year saw more postings, more comments, and more readers than the first year. The Blog is now stuffed with 615 postings and 280 comments, and the Google Analytics map above shows that it is even more widely read than a year ago, reaching 188 countries and an unbelievable 8,980 cities (being least read in: Mnichovice, Chiclayo, Phrae and Portoviejo), although I suspect that a fair few of these hits were attracted more by pictures of cuddly animals than by a thirst for petchem background knowledge.
I wonder if a picture of Knut the
For more anniversaries see:
How do you know you're a chemical engineer?
The Mussels in Brussels - Training and EPL
Knowing that our own Ed Cox from ICIS Heren was being interviewed about gas prices at 8.45 this morning on Radio Five Live, I eventually managed to find the station, tucked away on Medium Wave, on my car radio and listened to Ed answering questions on why gas prices in the UK weren't coming down, and why gas providers' forward buying never resulted in price reductions.
Other ICIS reporters were clustered around a PC in the office listening to him online, so there was something of an Ed-fest when I got into the office. Soon he was up on yahoo messenger and telling everyone how relieved he was that it was over.
SOCMA, the
You can vote if you have a LinkedIn account, and naturally you will want to vote for ICIS.
FAVORITE TRADE PUBLICATION QUICK POLL
http://polls.linkedin.com/p/50851/gppih
The world's first flexible electronic screen is only months away from launch, according to this article in today's Times. Moving imagery on a roll up A4-sized "intelligent plastic" display will be ideal for newspapers, pricing reports and even blogs, and perfect for popping in your pocket or handbag. "It is the first screen to be made from a microchip not of silicon but of cheap plastic," say the scientists at the University of Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory.
(Photo ereader from Plastic Logic)
Want to know the price of polyethylene in Senegal, Nigeria or South Africa? Then look no further. ICIS pricing has two new weekly reports on Polymers in Africa. Read my colleague Will Beacham on his new secret Blog on the subject. Also with link to FREE samples of the reports themselves.
