UK CHEMICAL INDUSTRY CONTINUES TO PUSH AHEAD BUT WARNS OF ENERGY CHALLENGE
 
In speeches to the Annual Dinner of the Chemical Industries Association to take place in London on 19 November, the President and Chief Executive will salute the performance of UK chemical business but warn of the Britain’s energy challenge.
 
Tom Crotty, President of CIA, will tell the 900 guests “We have the opportunity to build a new European chemical business around shale and I believe to rejuvenate our three key UK chemical clusters with energy, infrastructure and skills in Central Scotland, Merseyside and Teesside.” But will warn “If government is genuinely committed to a manufacturing resurgence they need to understand that a thriving chemical industry is vital.
We need to urgently address our energy base if we want a thriving UK chemical industry.”
 
Chief Executive Steve Elliott will say “While the chemical industry in the UK has had a strong year so far with growth of 6%, there are significant challenges affecting current trading conditions that companies are tackling right now on energy, innovation, environment and skills that need a better public policy framework that serves our country and allows business to grow as part of that”.
 
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Notes

For additional quotes from Steve or Tom or further information please contact Simon Marsh on 07951 389197

• We are the UK’s largest manufacturing exporting sector with exports of over £50 bn, 20% of all UK manufacturing exports.
• We are a high value manufacturer with Gross Value Added (GVA) per head 1.6 times higher than for the whole of UK manufacturing.
• The sector provides around 160,000 high quality direct jobs and around half a million direct, indirect and supply chain jobs.
• Research and Development spending is key to developing innovative new products and processes. As a result, R&D spending in the sector was almost £5 billion in 2013.
• Investment is essential to the expansion of the sector. Companies in the sector invested almost £4 billion in the UK in 2014, a real terms increase of around 5% compared with 2013.
• Business Investment in the chemical sector expanded by 36% in real terms in the first half of 2015 when compared with the first half of 2014.