Chemical Company Executives, Legislators Gather to Create Solutions for Industry Issues
A dynamic group of chemical industry executives jointly engaged a captive audience of legislators at a Chemical Industry Summit, hosted by LANXESS Corporation President and CEO Randy Dearth.
Dearth hosted an assembly of his peers, including executives from industry powerhouses. "What's important about this summit is that you have the people that can literally affect change in the room with you," said Dearth. "It's an open discussion, where we can speak candidly about the issues facing our industry."
Together, the group explored legislative and regulatory initiatives for the chemical industry and successfully identified real solutions to issues including energy, security, climate change, and rail transportation.
"I have great expectations for this Summit," commented Dearth. "If nothing else, we started a discussion and demonstrated the critical role we play in the Pittsburgh Region. Then, if you expand it exponentially to the other business locations, this becomes a national summit, with national issues being addressed."
Summit participants initiated the process of bridging the gap between where the chemical industry stands today and where it is headed in the future. Right now, the U.S. chemical market is the largest in the world, accounting for 22 percent of the total world chemical population. By bringing to a forefront everything that is dynamic about the chemical landscape, the synergy created in the Summit will allow the U.S. as a whole to remain competitive in the industry.
"My fear is that one day we'll wake up and realize that the American chemical businesses are operating in a completely new landscape, one in which it is more difficult to compete," added Dearth. "I don't want that for my employees, my industry or my country."
Pittsburgh served as an appropriate hub for discussion as the region is booming with chemical industry employees. Southwestern Pa. alone employs nearly 8,700 individuals at 160 area facilities, and that number increases to one million employees at the national level.
About LANXESS
LANXESS is a leader in specialty chemicals with 2006 sales of EUR 6.94 billion and more than 16,000 employees in 21 countries. The company is represented at 47 production sites worldwide. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacture and sale of specialty chemicals, plastics, rubber and intermediates.
