Hosted across ‘free to attend’ theatres integrated into the show floor, the programme will provide a platform for:

  • Bringing together UK nationwide specialist groups across the chemicals sector to consider the big common challenges & opportunities
  • Sharing of knowledge, viewpoints, experiences across the chemical & chemical products (consumer, industrial & institutional) sectors
  • Keynote contributions from leading industry figures, bodies & organisations – highlighting key sector issues & perspectives
  • Feature ‘hot topic’ sessions – getting to grips with the major transformational issues & challenges
  • Technology & Innovation insight and assessing major ‘disruptive change’ in the Chemical sector
  • Feature daily panel sessions – leading figures across the UK regions uniting to debate
  • Feature streams planned include – EcoChem, Chem Industry 4.0 and more

INVITED CONFERENCE THEMES INCLUDE:

1. Chemical Business/Markets

  • Chemical Sector business environment – current & projected/growth drivers
  • Competitive pressures to reduce plant, processing, labour & energy costs, whilst remaining ‘competitive’
  • New ‘growth’ and ‘value opportunities’ gaps – where do we see opportunity for UK chemical sector manufacturers? – by sector / by geography
  • Challenges of Feedstocks price & supply volatility /Raw material changes in the Chemical Industry – inc renewable feedstocks
  • Downstream market opportunities and changing demand patterns – e.g. battery chemicals/sustainable plastics etc
  • Collaborative R&D/innovation initiatives, supporting UK capability
  • Future-proofing for 2025/2030 markets & beyond  – products & supporting processes
  • Brexit explored – where are we? how are developments (as we find at that stage) impacting on the sector?
  • Avoiding commoditisation /retention of market share
  • Chemical Growth partnership and UK chemicals industry collaborative intelligence
  • Chemical Industry workforce changes – how fit for the future is your team?
  • Labour costs/challenges – automation investment & strategy

2. Process & Operational Improvement/Technology & Innovation/Logistics

  • Maintaining & Improving productivity & flexibility levels
  • Achieving environmental  targets & regulations/ newer sustainability-based processes
  • The right strategy for harnessing ‘innovation’
  • Industry 4.0 /Digitisation adoption/Newer business models – when and how?
  • Chemical Industry and Big Data- explored?
  • Achieving faster innovation/R & D cycles for competitive edge
  • Process Scale-up challenges
  • Plant reliability & maintenance/service strategy
  • Water management/resources challenges for the chemical sector
  • Adapting to process change to meet developing/transitioning markets
  • Reconciling continued growth and innovation with compliance management
  • Challenges of embracing chemical synthesis /bioprocessing processes in the chemicals industry
  • Resource, multi-plant & inventory management challenges
  • Chemical Industry energy – reconciling sustainability with competitiveness
  • Applications in flexible and modular processing plant/tech

3. Supply Chains/Capabilities/Resources/Logistics – supporting UK Chemical Sector

  • Efficiency of Supply Chains supporting UK-based chemical production processes
  • Highlighting of key capability gaps / shortfalls in UK readiness to capitalise on future market requirements & capabilities
  • Access to funding for SME growth in the sector
  • Exploring Chemical sector skills shortages/skills initiatives & strategy
  • UK readiness to capitalise on future market requirements & capabilities
  • Managing transportation costs & raw material volumes
  • Logistics challenges for specialised chemic-based industries
  • Trends in contract processing & manufacturing in the Chemical sector
  • Private label manufacturing trends in  the chemical products sectors
  • UK Innovation support structures, empowering UK world class chemical sector success

4. Green Chemistry/Environmental/H&S/Regulation & Compliance

  • Achievement of stringent safety requirements
  • Chemical Sector Regulatory compliance environment – process/production, logistics, safety, emissions etc
  • Environmental impact – improving process & product environmental footprint
  • Rise of Synthetic biology & new speciality chemicals
  • Chemical Industry energy – reconciling sustainability with competitiveness
  • UK chemical sector opportunities in Green Chemistry – e.g. bio packaging /biofuels/bio-synthetic chemicals
  • Sustainability transformation strategy /challenges
  • Plant Safety & Security – physical & digital

SUPPORTING PARTNERS INCLUDE