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Traditional conferences are still alive and well
FOCUS ON SURFACTANTS A MONTHLY REPORT FROM CAROLINE EDSER JULY 2012
TRADITIONAL CONFERENCES ARE STILL ALIVE AND WELL
In this issue
RAW MATERIALS
2-3
Oleochemicals Ethoxylates: Huntsman installs new EO capacity
SURFACTANTS
3
Air Products launches two superwetting surfactants
ASSOCIATED PRODUCTS
4
Preservatives and polymers from Troy, Sharon Labs and Ashland
APPLICATIONS
4
Household and personal care
LEGISLATION
4-5
European detergent phosphates regulation amended
COMPANY RESULTS
5-6
1Q 2012 results for Huntsman, Unilever, Reckitt Benckiser and more
COMPANY NEWS
6-7
BASF updates research strategy
EVENTS
SURFACTANTS
AN INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTER MONITORING TECHNICAL AND COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENTS FOR ALL SURFACE ACTIVE AGENTS ISSN 1351–4210
8
Going back 10 or 15 years or so I remember confident predictions that the traditional format for conferences would soon be a distant memory. No longer would delegates and experts from a given field of shared interest convene from far and wide at a single – preferably appealing – location for several days of lectures, posterviewing and face-to-face networking. Instead, rapidly advancing telecoms technology (combined with the more negative reality of ever-tightening travel budgets) would see us ditching the ‘obsolete’ conference model in favour of participation in virtual meetings and online seminars without leaving the confines of our offices... While we’re certainly attending fewer conferences on average than a decade or two ago (and, without doubt, online seminars can be a fantastic resource for distance learning), it is equally clear that the traditional conference is far from dead! A number of meetings, both new and of longer vintage, have folded in recent years. However, I was struck rather forcibly as I attempted to compile this month’s diary (see p 8) by what a packed programme we still have serving the interests of the surfactants industry. I’ve had to leave out a good deal more than I could fit in! Particular notable are the new events joining the circuit this year alongside the long-standing annual autumn meetings such as the European Colloid & Interface Society’s conference, this year in Sweden, and Germany’s SEPAWA Congress in October. ICIS Conferences is following up on the successful launches of its World and
SURFACTANTS
Asian Surfactants Conferences last year with the inaugural European Surfactants Conference to be held this September in Budapest, Hungary. The event promises to ‘turn the spotlight’ on this ‘highly competitive and innovative’ regional market as well as evaluating the growth opportunities afforded by the emerging Eastern European and Russian markets. The programme includes speakers from Neil A Burns LLC, Kline & Co, Euromonitor International, Mintel Group, BASF, Brenntag, Dow Chemical, Rhodia Novecare and the Hungarian Cosmetic & Home Care Association, among others. As mentioned in the last issue [Focus on Surfactants, Jun 2012], the AOCS is also launching a new Singapore-based conference in late October to fill the void between the four-yearly Montreux meetings. In fact, the Asian market is especially wellserved with meetings this autumn, with September seeing the 12th Asia Surfactants Personal & Homecare Markets event in Shanghai and OFI Asia in Kuala Lumpur, followed by the 2nd edition of ICIS’ Asian Surfactants Conference in Singapore and incosmetics Asia in Bangkok, both to be held in November. November also offers the South America Surfactants HPC Markets event in Sao Paulo and SCS Formulate in the UK. For students of surfactant science and technology, this autumn also provides several useful courses organized by BACS (http://www.bacsnet.org) in the UK and by Calmia (http://www.calmia.se) in Portugal and Sweden.
SURFACTANTS
Caroline Edser
SURFACTANTS
TRADITIONAL CONFERENCES ARE STILL ALIVE AND WELL
In this issue
RAW MATERIALS
2-3
Oleochemicals Ethoxylates: Huntsman installs new EO capacity
SURFACTANTS
3
Air Products launches two superwetting surfactants
ASSOCIATED PRODUCTS
4
Preservatives and polymers from Troy, Sharon Labs and Ashland
APPLICATIONS
4
Household and personal care
LEGISLATION
4-5
European detergent phosphates regulation amended
COMPANY RESULTS
5-6
1Q 2012 results for Huntsman, Unilever, Reckitt Benckiser and more
COMPANY NEWS
6-7
BASF updates research strategy
EVENTS
SURFACTANTS
AN INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTER MONITORING TECHNICAL AND COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENTS FOR ALL SURFACE ACTIVE AGENTS ISSN 1351–4210
8
Going back 10 or 15 years or so I remember confident predictions that the traditional format for conferences would soon be a distant memory. No longer would delegates and experts from a given field of shared interest convene from far and wide at a single – preferably appealing – location for several days of lectures, posterviewing and face-to-face networking. Instead, rapidly advancing telecoms technology (combined with the more negative reality of ever-tightening travel budgets) would see us ditching the ‘obsolete’ conference model in favour of participation in virtual meetings and online seminars without leaving the confines of our offices... While we’re certainly attending fewer conferences on average than a decade or two ago (and, without doubt, online seminars can be a fantastic resource for distance learning), it is equally clear that the traditional conference is far from dead! A number of meetings, both new and of longer vintage, have folded in recent years. However, I was struck rather forcibly as I attempted to compile this month’s diary (see p 8) by what a packed programme we still have serving the interests of the surfactants industry. I’ve had to leave out a good deal more than I could fit in! Particular notable are the new events joining the circuit this year alongside the long-standing annual autumn meetings such as the European Colloid & Interface Society’s conference, this year in Sweden, and Germany’s SEPAWA Congress in October. ICIS Conferences is following up on the successful launches of its World and
SURFACTANTS
Asian Surfactants Conferences last year with the inaugural European Surfactants Conference to be held this September in Budapest, Hungary. The event promises to ‘turn the spotlight’ on this ‘highly competitive and innovative’ regional market as well as evaluating the growth opportunities afforded by the emerging Eastern European and Russian markets. The programme includes speakers from Neil A Burns LLC, Kline & Co, Euromonitor International, Mintel Group, BASF, Brenntag, Dow Chemical, Rhodia Novecare and the Hungarian Cosmetic & Home Care Association, among others. As mentioned in the last issue [Focus on Surfactants, Jun 2012], the AOCS is also launching a new Singapore-based conference in late October to fill the void between the four-yearly Montreux meetings. In fact, the Asian market is especially wellserved with meetings this autumn, with September seeing the 12th Asia Surfactants Personal & Homecare Markets event in Shanghai and OFI Asia in Kuala Lumpur, followed by the 2nd edition of ICIS’ Asian Surfactants Conference in Singapore and incosmetics Asia in Bangkok, both to be held in November. November also offers the South America Surfactants HPC Markets event in Sao Paulo and SCS Formulate in the UK. For students of surfactant science and technology, this autumn also provides several useful courses organized by BACS (http://www.bacsnet.org) in the UK and by Calmia (http://www.calmia.se) in Portugal and Sweden.
SURFACTANTS
Caroline Edser
SURFACTANTS