Chemspec Europe 2013 Billed to be Largest Ever

Networking - This year marks the 28th anniversary of the Chemspec Europe, and the show has come a long way from its humble beginnings in a Manchester hotel in 1986. Considered to be one of Europe's main events for the fine and speciality chemicals market, the Chemspec Europe is expected to attract over 400 exhibitors and more than 5,000 visitors in Munich June 5-6. CHEManager Europe spoke with Steve Diprose, vice president at Quartz Business Media, which owns the Chemspec brand about what visitors can expect this year.

CHEManager Europe: This June, Chemspec Europe takes place in Munich, Germany. Have you further developed or refined the concept of Chemspec Europe?

Steve Diprose: It has become evident in recent years that in order to continue attracting visitors and exhibitors, we needed to evolve from a simple trade exhibition to an event where people could not only network, but also enjoy a learning experience as well.

How have you integrated this learning experience into the show?

Steve Diprose:  We now work with a number of industry and academic partners to host a number of lecture theatres featuring a wide range of subjects - from regulatory to pharma outsourcing to flow chemistry to a career clinic and many others beyond. In total, there are 12 conferences/seminars nearly all of which are free to attend.

What kind of an effect is the location having on exhibitor and attendee registration numbers? Have you experienced differences of locations in terms of the appeal of a city or the proximity to regional markets?

Steve Diprose: Being an international event, we look at a number of factors to decide where to host Chemspec Europe. Key considerations include proximity to a local industry; destination appeal; good facilities and transport infrastructure.  All of these factors have a bearing on the profile of the audience; although, interestingly, our total trade attendance tends not to vary by more than 10% at around 5,000 visitors from 60 countries. We do generally see an upsurge of visitors from the host country, and Germany is normally the most popular country across our exhibitor base. Munich 2013 will be the largest Chemspec Europe on record and certainly has the highest level conferences and seminars. I guess that proves that point as Munich really fits all the criteria as an ideal conference location.

How have the needs of exhibitors changed?

Steve Diprose:  Fundamentally, the needs of our exhibitors have remained fairly constant: They wish to have face-to-face meetings with existing and potential new clients. What they recognize and have helped us to evolve via our advisory panel is the current offering of Chemspec's transformation from a standard trade exhibition to an industry event and international meeting point. For example, destination venues, content subjects and networking opportunities have all been passed and approved by the panel.

Specialty chemicals cover a broad range of segments or applications. What are the most important market segments covered by Chemspec Europe exhibitors? Do you have plans to increase the importance of different market segments?

Steve Diprose: The beauty of Chemspec is its coverage right across the spectrum of fine and speciality chemicals, with markets such as pharma, agro, personal care, water treatment and many others. When new market opportunities come on stream- generally we learn about these from our exhibitors - we look to acquire new data and encourage new visitors from these markets.

Specialty chemicals producers have aligned their strategies along megatrends such as sustainability, urbanization, mobility or health. Has Chemspec Europe also implemented these megatrends into its concept?

Steve Diprose: We are aware of these trends, and indeed a number of our exhibiting companies and visitors are participants. However, at this time, it is difficult to understand how we could implement these in to Chemspec given our broad client range - from mom and pop outfits to the major corporates.

In particular, do you see a growing importance of green chemistry concepts in exhibitors' product or market strategies?

Steve Diprose: Indeed we do, and not just at our European show.  Chemspec's India and Asia shows will also include green chemistry seminars on the show floor

After two years, there was no Chemspec USA held this year. What are your plans for going forward with that show?

Steve Diprose: It would be fair to say that we were unsuccessful in attracting the visitor levels we wished for at Chemspec USA. The reasons are unclear to me; in the two years we had the event in Philadelphia, we had an excellent line-up of content and speakers and should have attracted greater numbers. To have continued with the same strategy would not have been good practice towards our exhibitors for whom attending a trade show is a significant cost. It is our responsibility to ensure that they receive a return on their investment as much as possible. We are continuing to watch that market; if we feel there to be a genuine opportunity for a successful event in the future we will not hesitate to try again.

This year, Quartz is launching the ChemExpo Africa. Who are you looking to attract to that show? What role do you see Africa playing in the future of the specialty chemicals industry?

Steve Diprose: With the absence of a broad-based chemical show in Southern Africa, we felt there was an opportunity to expand our offering beyond our traditional fine and speciality chemicals and serve markets such as petrochemical; explosives; laboratory and test equipment; formulation technologies; packaging; etc.

We therefore created a new brand ChemExpo Africa, which reflects our expansion beyond our traditional roots. My understanding from some of our major clients and local trade associations is that Africa is set for expansion both economically and in the chemicals market. Launching at this time, we definitely feel that we will be well placed to take advantage of that growth. We have already experienced tremendous support from local companies, trade associations such as Chemicals and Allied Industries Association (CAIA). The South African government has described ChemExpo as a wonderful opportunity to display the South Africa chemical industry on the global map. Internationally strong interest has been shown from China, India and Europe.