Fifteen European Union Chemical Companies – Areas of Expertise

In my last blog, I provided performance data for fifteen European Union chemical companies.  (Click here to read that blog.)  These companies represent many of the largest publicly-traded chemical companies headquartered in the European Union. 

In this blog, I am providing the technology segments, those areas of expertise, that these companies perform in.  These technology segments are based on what the companies state in their 2019 annual reports to be their general areas of expertise, and upon which their businesses are depended.   The first table provides, alphabetically, the segment technologies, along with a company associated with each technology.  The second table provides an alphabetical listing of the companies along with their stated technology segments. 

 

company	segment technologies
clarinat	additives
clarinat	additives - food
lanxess	additives - polymers & lubricants
evonik	additives - speciality
arkema	adhesives
covestro	adhesives
wacker	bio-solutions
basf	catalysts
clarinat	catalysts
umicore	catalysts
basf	chemcials - petroleum
solvay	chemicals -  solvents
basf	chemicals - agriculture
yara	chemicals - agriculture
solvay	chemicals - fluor
basf	chemicals - nutrition & care
evonik	chemicals - nutrition & care
dsm	chemicals - nutrition: animal & human
clarinat	chemicals - oil & mining
basf	chemicals - performance
solvay	chemicals - peroxides
covestro	chemicals - polycarbonates
covestro	chemicals - polyurethanes
solvay	chemicals - rare earth formulations
solvay	chemicals - silica
wacker	chemicals - silicones
solvay	chemicals - soda ash
clarinat	chemicals - speciality
covestro	chemicals - speciality
akzo nobel	coatings
basf	coatings
arkema	costings
covestro	costings
lyondellbasell	crude oils - refining
lyondellbasell	derivatives
basf	dispersions
umicore	energy technologies
solvay	formulations - liquids
linde	gas production & distribution
arkema	intermediates
basf	intermediates
evonik	intermediates
lanxess	intermediates
lyondellbasell	intermediates
lanxess	liquid purification
dsm	materials
arkema	materials - advanced
solvay	materials - advanced
solvay	materials - composite
evonik	materials - high performance
basf	materials - performance & monomers
lanxess	materials - protection & high performance
clarinat	minerals
lyondellbasell	olefins & polyolefins
akzo nobel	paints
basf	pigments
lanxess	pigments - inorganic
lyondellbasell	polymer - solutions
evonik	polymer materials
wacker	polymers - polysilicon
solvay	polymers - specialty
wacker	polymers - specialty
umicore	recycling
umicore	surface technologies
lanxess	urethane systems
kemira	water use

  

company	segments technologies
akzo nobel	coatings
akzo nobel	paints
arkema	adhesives
arkema	costings
arkema	intermediates
arkema	materials - advanced
basf	catalysts
basf	chemcials - petroleum
basf	chemicals - agriculture
basf	chemicals - nutrition & care
basf	chemicals - performance
basf	coatings
basf	dispersions
basf	intermediates
basf	materials - performance & monomers
basf	pigments
clarinat	additives
clarinat	additives - food
clarinat	catalysts
clarinat	chemicals - oil & mining
clarinat	chemicals - speciality
clarinat	minerals
covestro	adhesives
covestro	chemicals - polycarbonates
covestro	chemicals - polyurethanes
covestro	chemicals - speciality
covestro	costings
dsm	chemicals - nutrition: animal & human
dsm	materials
evonik	additives - speciality
evonik	chemicals - nutrition & care
evonik	intermediates
evonik	materials - high performance
evonik	polymer materials
kemira	water use
lanxess	additives - polymers & lubricants
lanxess	intermediates
lanxess	liquid purification
lanxess	materials - protection & high performance
lanxess	pigments - inorganic
lanxess	urethane systems
linde	gas production & distribution
lyondellbasell	crude oils - refining
lyondellbasell	derivatives
lyondellbasell	intermediates
lyondellbasell	olefins & polyolefins
lyondellbasell	polymer - solutions
solvay	chemicals -  solvents
solvay	chemicals - fluor
solvay	chemicals - peroxides
solvay	chemicals - rare earth formulations
solvay	chemicals - silica
solvay	chemicals - soda ash
solvay	formulations - liquids
solvay	materials - advanced
solvay	materials - composite
solvay	polymers - specialty
umicore	catalysts
umicore	energy technologies
umicore	recycling
umicore	surface technologies
wacker	bio-solutions
wacker	chemicals - silicones
wacker	polymers - polysilicon
wacker	polymers - specialty
yara	chemicals - agriculture

  

These tables show, it sems to me, the following generalizations: 

1.      Several companies pursue similar technologies, e.g., additives, catalysts; coatings, and intermediates;

2.      Several companies indicate a specialty in materials, but specifically what the specialty consists of is not clear;

3.      By pursuing businesses based on materials opens up the companies to important advancements in unknown areas;

4.      Standing out in this list of technologies, it seems to me, is that the specialties depend on advanced chemical technology and science and continuing developments in those technologies and science are critical to the companies; and

5.      Developments in these areas make huge contributions to human welfare. 

Follow-up blogs to this and the previous one will provide such data and analysis on chemical companies in Japan and the United States.