The specialty chemicals sector and most sub-sectors are growing slightly above global GDP and have positive drivers from sustainability to population growth as well as innovation in advanced materials
However, there is increased pressures towards commoditization along with volatility in raw material feed stock (mostly hydrocarbon and thus related to oil and gas prices) that make gross margin profitability a challenge
While the overall industry finds it difficult to grow profitability, there are clearly individual companies that manage to drive profitability and growth by focusing on applications knowledge, customer relationships and scale (to drive down costs)
Specialty firms with a focus on coatings and sealants for industrial and consumer markets make the point
This introduction relies on the specialty chemicals expertise of Mr. N. Bodapati