2021 Chemical Industry Outlook: Q&A with Optima Chemical’s President, Gene Williams
By Mike Harrison, Business Development at Optima Chemical
2020 brought on unprecedented challenges for chemical companies due to the global pandemic but, according to the American Chemical Council (ACC), the industry is already in recovery mode in 2021. In fact, the specialty chemical market is expected to reach more than $530 billion by 2022, signifying a growth rate of approximately 6% from 2015 to 2022.
The ACC further indicated that opportunities could arise in production and manufacturing due to the shifting needs of customers in this new ecosystem, such as new demand for personal protection equipment, consumer spending on home improvement products, more demand for specialty chemicals as the vaccine continues to roll out, and the increased opportunities from onshoring activities. To get a better handle on some of the trends occurring across the chemical landscape, I sat down with Optima Chemical’s President, Gene Williams, to get his thoughts on what’s ahead for Optima Chemical and the industry at large in 2021.
Q. It goes without saying that 2020 was a difficult year for most global businesses due to Covid-19. Can you speak to any of the challenges that the chemical industry faced and some of the ways companies like Optima Chemical were able to overcome these obstacles?
A. First, thank you for sitting down with me today to discuss the state of our industry. I believe we are at an inflection point right now where there are some good opportunities for growth, and I remain excited about what’s ahead in 2021.
To answer your question, and to reiterate some of what I mentioned in my “2020 Employee Appreciation Address” I gave late last year, 2020 has been a difficult year from just about every aspect of life. We know some people on our Optima Chemical team have suffered losses, and our thoughts and prayers go out to them and their families during this difficult time. As a business, Optima Chemical has also been impacted by Covid-19, as some of our customers did not have the success that they would have hoped for in 2020, which directly affected us. But in spite of it all, we consider ourselves blessed because we have managed to get through the year without furloughs or layoffs, and many customers have decided to stick with us during this period of time.
In terms of challenges the industry faced, some customers were forced to shut down manufacturing operations due to the pandemic, and demand for some chemicals declined due to shifting priorities among end-user industries like electronic, automotive, and construction. Additionally, we saw some pricing pressures and trade uncertainty due to some of the geopolitical issues in play at the time. However, companies like Optima Chemical rose to the challenges presented by the pandemic by sitting down with our customers to better understand what their immediate needs are in this shifting landscape, and focused on accommodating those needs in every way we could. Ultimately, we remain very optimistic about 2021, with several exciting projects taking place on the horizon.
Q. You mentioned that you are bullish about 2021. Can you elaborate on what exactly Optima Chemical has in the works over the next 12 months?
A. Yes, we have two projects lined up that we are especially excited about. The first is the development of a new catalyst to be commercially engaged, and the second is the development of a novel material that has application in a next generation energy storage. Both projects were slowed by Covid-19 travel and collaboration restrictions in 2020 but have now progressed to move forward in 2021.
These projects and others scheduled for 2021 will not only manifest in business opportunities but also result in increased capacity in several key unit operations, including reactor capability and solids separation.
Q. Thanks, Gene. It sounds like there are some exciting opportunities coming down the pike for Optima Chemical. Before we close the discussion, I was just wondering if you might be able to share where you see Optima Chemical in the next 4–5 years in terms of growth?
A. While I don’t know what the future holds, I do know that Optima Chemical is, and has always been, razor focused on ensuring that we provide our customers with the excellent service that they have come to expect year-in and year-out, despite any hurdles that might crop up along the way. This ethos is seen across every level of our organization, and it has been a key to Optima Chemical’s growth strategy since our inception.
Another area of growth for us has been in R&D, having grown from a company that offered a single product 30 years ago to the full-service chemical company that we are today, with an array of products and service offerings that meet the changing needs of our customer base now and into the future. More specifically, we are very interested in energy storage markets and applications because we believe that our experience and expertise make us particularly well suited to participate in opportunities that crop up in this exciting space. Of course, speed from an idea/concept to a viable commercial process is becoming more and more critical in this fast-changing environment, which has always been one of our strengths at Optima Chemical. We continue to seek new ways to help our customers be successful, and that desire to find solutions for difficult and challenging applications will continue to drive growth for us over the next 4–5 years.
Finally, Optima Chemical has made significant capital investments in our infrastructure over the years, which have helped us grow, including the addition of a new state-of-the-art headquarters in 2019, which increased efficiencies and collaboration among our employees, and investments in our plants. We are always looking for ways to better support the needs of our employees and our customers, and we know through experience that investing in our facilities and workforce will help to drive growth.
