Your contribution is equivalent to 2% of GDP chemical industrythat faces the future with a focus on innovation and advanced materials, as highlighted at a recent event celebrating 30 years of the Hellenic Association of Chemical Industries.
It should be noted that the SEHB next month, in November 13th to 15thwill host a global event, the Chemical Convention. During the event, around 200 heads of major EU chemical industries will be in Athens. which will focus on developments and challenges facing the chemical industry internationally. A fact that is further proof that the Greek chemical industry is recognized as a component with an active role in European and global industry.
During the anniversary event organized by the Association in Technopolis of the Municipality of Athens, the president of SEXB competent Giannidishighlighted the importance of the chemical industry in the country’s economy, stating that “in the next 30 years, the development of the chemical industry at many levels will be exponential”. And he asked: “let us shape them so that they are appreciated by us and those who follow them. Together, generations can shape the future, defining our scenarios and objectives.” Describing the myths that circulate about the chemical industry, Dr. Lefteris Anastasakis (Chemist, Business Consultant, Author) had the opportunity to summarize the main historical milestones of industry at international level and in Greece, overturning with exemplary references and the language of numbers, the stereotypical statements often heard in public discourse: that the chemical industry is harmful to health… that it pollutes the environment… that our country has never had a chemical industry or, alternatively, that it cannot have a strong chemical industry. “960 companies, 14 thousand employees, turnover of 2% of GDP, 60% of production exported… Not bad for an industry that… doesn’t exist. Don’t you think so?”, Anastasakis emphasized, noting that Greece could acquire an even stronger chemical industry.
In turn, in a historical review that mixed elements of enthusiasm and emotion, Mr. Skarlatos, from the position of General Director and Second Vice-President of SEXB Alexandros Katrouzosrepresenting two different generations of the industry, spoke in an “off the record” tone about the collective expression of the chemical industry in Greece: the difficult environment in which it was forced to take its first steps in 1994, the transformation to the needs of the present, but also the challenges of the future;
Regarding the sector’s perspectives, Dimitris Dimitriadis, Futurist, referred to the four megatrends that will affect the sector: need for sustainability, digital transformation in chemical products, stricter environmental regulations and standards, development of chemical specialties. Explaining that “when we have an industry that is pressured by regulations, innovation always comes as a result”, Mr. Dimitriadis noted that the next day in the industry is the transition to advanced materials and that is why big companies are already working on close collaboration with technology companies.
On the State’s side, the event was honored with the presence of Niki Kerameos, Minister of Labor and Social Security, Vassiliki Loizou, Secretary General of Industry, Sofia Zisi, General Director of the State General Chemicals, who was also recently elected President of the Council of Administration of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). The event was kindly sponsored by the companies BASF, K&NE, KAVALA NOVAFERT LTD, KRALLIS, MEGARA RESINS, NEOTEX, VITEX and with the support of the SusChemGR initiative.