Fruitful Contacts -The Chemspec Europe opened its doors to the chemical community at the beginning of June for the 25th time, and the moods of visitors and exhibitors alike matched the summertime weather in the hosting city Berlin: mostly sunny. With a rough 2009 behind them, exhibitors were wary to pronounce the worldwide economic crisis as a relic of the past, yet most were cautiously optimistic about the development of business in 2010.

Quartz Business Media Media, the event organizer, said that floor space was 15% larger than in Barcelona in 2009 and estimates that total attendance was up by 10%. The organizer describes the show as such: Chemspec is a horizontal show, where exhibitors showcase diversified chemistry capabilities to a very wide range of industries. The life sciences are clearly the most important and the addition of the Pharmaspec area since 2008, uniting suppliers of APIs and other pharma-specific products and services, has drawn in some important new visitors from the pharmaceuticals sector.

However, Quartz Business Media Media also reported visitors from a wide variety of sectors across the board: flavors and fragrances; personal care; industrial cleaning; water treatment; dyes and colors; electronics; speciality additives; photographic and imaging; photovoltaics; polymers; and and general industrial chemicals were all represented.

Voices From The Show Floor

"It's been one of the busiest shows we've had," Dr. Jim Birnie of Sumitomo Chemical Europe told Quartz Business Media. "We have had as many meetings as we usually do; the difference has been that there have been a lot more spot calls and it has all been far more intense than before."
Laurent Naraf, international business director for Azelis, echoed these sentiments: "Very good, very busy, very crowded. We have had a lot of positive meetings..."

Several companies used this year's Chemspec Europe to resume exhibiting activities after a year or more absence. Dr. Michael Helwig, head of Lonza's custom manufacturing for industrial specialities and life science ingredients, told CHEManager Europe that the return to the trade show had been positive for his company, reporting many meetings with visitors that wouldn't have taken place without a booth at the show. Other companies who decided to exhibit after a break included DSM, Evonik Industries, Almac Sciences, Siegfried, DKSH and the Dishman Group.

Reach: Ominipresent at the Chemspec Europe

This year's Reach Corner, sponsored by REACHReady, also saw a lot of visitor traffic, particular from representatives from Asian companies. ReachReady's director Dr. Jo Lloyd, for example, gave a presentation that was simultaneously translated into Mandarin for the benefit of visitors from China. With the next Reach deadline coming up on Dec. 1, Lloyd told CHEManager Europe that many companies are lagging behind due to poor project management.
According to a survey published by ReachReady at the end of May, one third of the SIEFs working towards a 2010 deadline had still not appointed a lead registrant. Encouragingly, as of July, about half of the SIEFs had registered a lead registrant.

The survey also showed 30% of respondents had little confidence that they would meet all their registration deadlines in time - even where a lead had been appointed. The survey showed that many companies will to face difficult business decisions after the Dec. 1 deadline has come and gone. Many companies reported that they don't have control over meeting the deadline; they are reliant on their lead registrant (who is usually also their competitor) completing their obligations in time.

The consequence of not meeting the deadline? Companies who continue to sell unregistered chemicals will be participating in illegal trade, Lloyd said.
Marc Kiener, Reach management consultant and CEO of likedeelers, added that Reach hasn't yet achieved the awareness it needs, and that many companies are just now beginning to look for assistance for the registration process.

Chemspec USA in 2011

In the weeks before the Chemspec Europe, Quartz Business Media surprised the industry by announcing the launch of a U.S. version of their show, set to take place in May 2011 in Philadelphia, Pa., three months after the Informex's February show in Charlotte, NC. For exhibitors and visitors alike, this means two major shows catering to the fine, custom and specialty chemicals market within three months of each other on the U.S. East coast.

Most visitors and exhibitors CHEManager Europe spoke with were skeptical about another U.S. show. Many who helped keep Informex from encroaching on Chemspec's European territory when UBM attempted to bring the show to Berlin in 2007 said they would do the same to protect the Informex. Many said that one trade show in the States is enough, and some went so far as to call Quartz Business Media's move detrimental to the industry.
"Three trade shows in a year are enough," said one exhibitor. "It's about quality, not quantity."

Steve Diprose, vice president at Quartz Business Media, said his team is responding to industry demand for an alternative show in the U.S., but also said they recognize that element of competition that the move is bringing into the market.
"It is uncertain ... whether the U.S. will sustain two shows of similar scale operating annually," he said. "That is for the market to decide in the fullness of time."