At the annual conference of the European Chemical Transport Association (ECTA) in Düsseldorf on Thursday, November 27, a rather negative picture was painted of the future of the chemical sector in Western Europe. Chemical production is moving to other regions of the world. But according to Marc Koenders, managing director of Withofs Bulk Logistics, this evolution will not have a major impact on his company’s activities.
“That won’t be too bad for us,” he says. “We do not focus so much on ‘base chemicals’, but more on the niche markets, the specials within the chemical industry. We expect these to remain stable within Europe.”
He also sees room for growth: “There are still opportunities, especially related to pharmaceuticals and chemicals for the food industry. That is what we will focus on.”
Marc Koenders also emphasizes that the company has been consciously moving towards chemical niche markets for several years: “Chemical transport is becoming increasingly important within Withofs Bulk Logistics. We have been shifting our activities more and more to niche markets in the chemical industry in recent years. That is quite a search for us, but a successful search.”
