For a Brighter Tomorrow -- More than 200 participants from across the chemical industry met at the Fecc Annual Congress 2012 in Lisbon to learn and exchange on the latest trends in the industry. Covering the most relevant topics in the sector, the event continues to establish itself as one of the most important dates in the European chemical industry's calendar.

Aiming at reaching the next level and turning targets into real change, the European Association of Chemical Distributors (Fecc) appropriately chose the theme Sustainable and responsible distribution: the formula for success. When welcoming the participants, Fecc's President Edgar E. Nordmann, noted: "Inspired by the industry's drive to find the formula for success, we developed a well-rounded program that covered a wide range of topics. With the sessions we aimed to challenge the participants to recognize the changing landscape in the business world, think more about the leadership challenges and the different ways to respond to them".
With its daily work Fecc fosters cooperation within the chemical distribution industry and the supply chain. The Fecc congress has become an optimal platform where exchange between all stakeholders is greatly encouraged. This year the participants enjoyed diverse and much appreciated networking opportunities.
In the current challenging economical climate, chemical safety, competitiveness and sustainable development remain our industry's priorities. These topics were recurrent across all the five sessions of the congress.

Fitting in the Supply Chain
The unique position of the chemical distributors in the supply chain presents both challenges and advantages. Having a profound knowledge of the industry environment is a key part to a successful business strategy. It is clear that there's not only one viable market strategy, however as highlighted in several presentations, knowledge, adaptability and innovation play a key role in enhancing efficiency.
Distributors often extend their activities, as they include not only the delivery of goods but also of services and know how. Innovative business models like chemical leasing look one step ahead to increase sustainability and provide competitive advantages.
As in any other sector providing outstanding solutions to the customer is essential for chemical distributors. Aligning your company's values to those of your customer will lead to increase your success probability.

Sustainability
Responsible Care and its importance as a unique global initiative which is not only about health, safety and environment but also about the public image of our industry, was a subject present throughout the sessions. Public and private sectors have dedicated vast resources towards more sustainable and responsible business operations. Leading by example the chemical industry has taken actions to improve performance while giving a better use to the resources and taking into account environment conservation.
The congress emphasized the link between sustainability, high performance and opportunity by encouraging the participants to include sustainability and environmental programs in their business strategy. When introducing sustainability in your business strategy you must consider the importance it has for your customers. A sustainability strategy will improve processes and will help you go from research to concrete solutions.
It is crucial that adaptable communications are integrated in the company's strategy in order to reach all stakeholders. This will ensure that all the efforts and actions taken are widely known, leading to tangible competitive advantages.

Business Opportunities
Most of today's market leaders are those who had the foresight to recognize the changing landscape in the business world. Emerging markets like Asia and Latin America present a chance for both small and large enterprises to go global. Fecc continuously studies emerging markets and regularly reviews and disseminates factsheets regarding the chemicals sector in the focus regions and related macro-economic data.
With India and China focusing on chemical production and highly competitive prices, distributors starting in these markets, must be well informed and gather sufficient knowledge that will lead to a successful business strategy and efficient operations.
With an estimated worldwide market size of €121 billion for 2011 (provisional estimates, Chemagility), the chemical distribution sector is determined to meet future challenges. Fecc is confident that the lessons learned during the congress equipped the delegates with resources to respond to the complexity of the challenges we face as an industry.

We look forward to seeing you next year in Hamburg from June 17 to 19!