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#MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY SECTOR<br />
And to improve competitiveness?<br />
Our challenge is to continue focusing our competitiveness<br />
on specialisation by committing to R&D&I.<br />
The aim is to diversify our activity introducing products<br />
with higher added value than our competitors, as<br />
we are already doing. If we think about the chemical<br />
sector as a commodity, we lose our differential value.<br />
However, research is what allows us to really develop<br />
to cover new social demands and therefore new<br />
business opportunities.<br />
It is important to keep in mind that chemistry is<br />
present in practically all economic sectors, as it is<br />
constantly helping to provide global and sustainable<br />
solutions to a wide range of social challenges and<br />
demands related to energy, climate change, water,<br />
food, population growth, health, maintenance of natural<br />
resources and protection of the environment. This<br />
idea fully supports a positive growth outlook for the<br />
sector in the medium and long term.<br />
Last year we at Feique promoted the ChemSpain<br />
initiative: Chemicals from Spain, a new digital platform<br />
(chemspain.org) aimed at promoting trade in the<br />
Spanish chemical sector at an international level.<br />
How are the companies within the sector faring in<br />
comparison with their European counterparts??<br />
Essentially, we compete with the great European<br />
industrial powers like Germany and France and, to a<br />
lesser extent, Italy. The European market continues to<br />
be the one with the highest consumption and the one<br />
generating more value.<br />
Nonetheless, we must not ignore the strong momentum<br />
of Southeast Asian countries, especially China.<br />
But these also represent a remarkable opportunity for<br />
our production as they are important markets where<br />
we are growing more and more every day.<br />
What are the most notable activities and proposals<br />
carried out by FEIQUE for boosting the activity and<br />
development within the sector?<br />
Our work as a federation that represents the interests<br />
of the Spanish chemical industry will be well done<br />
if the companies in the sector are competitive and<br />
Spain is an attractive country for industrial productive<br />
investment.<br />
Many habits must change, but, above all, it is paramount<br />
to have policies and true pro-industrial<br />
agreements that lead to the realisation of this sector’s<br />
momentum and that do not discourage investment<br />
not only in Spain, but in Europe in general. Of course,<br />
we will keep working towards competitive energy<br />
costs, efficient logistic infrastructures and balanced<br />
regulations compared to the rest of the world, since<br />
these are key competitiveness factors for the industry<br />
in general and particularly for this sector.<br />
How do you assess the <strong>CEPYME500</strong> project and its<br />
contribution towards the development of medium-sized<br />
Spanish companies?<br />
Small and medium-sized companies make up most<br />
of the Spanish business sector and the chemical<br />
industry is a reflection of that. In fact, more than 95%<br />
of chemical companies are SMEs. For this reason,<br />
any initiative aimed at increasing the opportunities for<br />
visibility, growth and expansion of our companies is<br />
welcome.<br />
We need international projection and medium-sized<br />
companies are the perfect stepping stone towards<br />
foreign markets. But, above all, our business sector<br />
requires strength and size to have promising prospects<br />
and the chance to improve its productivity and<br />
internationalisation.<br />
<strong>CEPYME500</strong> | 063
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