Review of 4th ICIS World Surfactant Conference
Nw York November May 15th and 16th , 2014
I was again honored to co-produce and chair the ninth surfactant conference in our series with ICIS. This time – the fourth World conference, held in New York at the Jersey City Hyatt hotel. The venue was packed with over 200 participants in the surfactant value chain. You will get a sense of the agenda here.
Friends and colleagues from across the globe spent one and a half days engrossed as we heard from some of the leading companies in the world share their knowledge and experience in what has become a unique forum.
Here, I make a point or two regarding each of the speakers and hopefully give you a flavor of the type of event that we will produce coming up, September 4th and 5th 2013 in Berlin, at the Third ICIS European Surfactants Conference.
Also, you know my philosophy is “you gotta be there” to get the benefit from these conferences, so this is not intended to be a write up / substitute for being there. !
My opening remarks featured a review of the just how critically important surfactants are in our world economy. We looked at applications in food, farming, mining, oiffield and of course hygiene, health and cleaning. Our video to make this point was again a monty python clip (below). Can you spot the connection? (as I said, you have to be there..)
Day 1 kicked off with what I have to say was the best keynote address I have seen delivered at any event I’ve ever attended. Quinn Stepan, CEO of Stepan Co (NYSE: SCL) delivered a crisp analysis of the industry and Stepan’s commanding role in it. Stepan is all about surfactants and has a finger on the pulse of what is happening in every single sector. Quinn highlighted the potential large upsides in the oil and gas sector and also the challenges they have had to deal with in the laundry sector as formulation trends have impacted surfactant loading. The Q&A, for me, was even more enlightening than the talk. Our friendly and engaged audience, lived up to their reputation and asked some great questions, which Quinn fielded by drawing on a lifetime of experience and over 80 years of company history. Best trivia item: Quinn’s grandfather, Al, started the company in 1932 with a $500 loan from his mother – which he paid back. Throughout the whole rest of the conference, at least half of the speakers strayed from their presentation to react or add to something that Quinn had said. For me, this was the perfect keynote to start our largest and, it turns out, most highly rated conference ever.
Next up, Dr. Leslie Low from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), dazzled the audience with a layman’s guide to groundbreaking genomic research which is poised to alter the nature and productivity of the world’s (and surfactant industry’s) most important oil crop. This piece in the UK’s Grauniad newspaper summarizes what the impact of this work could be. Dr. Low went further into the impact on the surfactant value chain – which can clearly be enormous.
After the break, Doug Rightler of EO&D Consulting delivered his eagerly anticipated annual review of the EO (ethylene oxide) markets. Compressing a Master’s level course into 45 minutes, Doug’s overall point this year seemed to be that “it’s all about the MEG” and if you use purified EO for surfactants, right now, you are not as interesting to the EO producer as a million MT bulk MEG customer.
Doug’s a tough act to follow, but Yuree Whang of UOP, more than met that challenge with an objective and interesting take on the global LAB market. Interestingly, 80% of the world’s LAB production capacity uses UOP technology, so she knows the subject matter and arguably has a unique perspective.
Shale gas is the topic of the moment, so we wanted to address it in a way that got close to the gas field but also linked directly to the multiple impacts on the surfactant value chain. Mike McKibben of the Marcellus Shale Coalition did just that. Interesting number: Between now and 2020, half a trillion dollars worth of capital expenditure is planned just on mid-stream infrastructure to handle shale gas output!
Looking far out to the end of the detergent supply chain, Philip Malpass of the UKCPI delivered a fascinating analysis of the impact of laundry detergent monodose (i.e. pods, tablets etc..) on consumer behavior in Europe and its effects on the entire supply chain. An interesting perspective from the supermarket aisle and through the lens of a TV camera.
Continuing the theme of looking at our industry’s through the eyes of the shopper, Croda’s Jennifer Donahue talked through some groundbreaking work done on quantifying the effects of various surfactant ingredients on the perceptions of leading skin care products, by the user.
Our sustainability paper this year was a detailed and thought provoking analysis of oleochemical alcohols vs petrochemical alcohols from and LCA perspective. The data and ensuing debate brought to mind the old Henkel / Vista debates of the early 90’s around LAB and oleochemical alcohols. Julie O’Brien of Air Products did a masterful job weaving a story from a rich data pool. The discussion arising from this paper was one of the best I have seen at any of our conferences.
Surfactants and Enzymes; friends or foes? An interesting title for a insightful talk by Danielle Rhine-Showmaker of Novozymes. This talk was the third in a trio of presentations give by Novozymes in our series; first in Europe last year then Singapore and now New York. Attendees now know and appreciate the symbiotic relationship between these two key ingredients.
A long-time supporter of our conferences, Richard Smith, CEO of Surfachem, the European chemicals distributor, gave us a thoughtful analysis of the role of distribution in surfactants. He illustrated how distributors can also be innovators in serving the middle market of small to mid-sized customers. Something to think about for both manufacturers and users of surfactants.
Wrapping up Day 1, Hernan Cavarra of Frost & Sullivan gave a tour de force presentation chock full of data, information, insights and opinion relating to the Latin American surfactant market. I always like to say about our conferences, that you “just can’t get this anywhere else” and Hernan again proved this true. “Argentinian Shale Oil?” You learned about it at our conference first.
As is customary at our conferences, we played some thematic music as people walked in and got breakfast on the second day. Our Surfactants Playlist
for the conference has an easy to spot theme, with some Rush music interspersed for good measure. I trust you can see the connection of most of the songs with our overall theme for the conference (click on the link above)
Day 2 saw a packed room again as the air-conditioning labored to keep up with the volume of people. First up Dr. Charles Hammond of Flotek, Inc. addressed the question “Surfactant EOR – When?”. This is a question that pretty much everyone in our industry has asked at some time in their careers. Charles gave us a useful framework for developing an answer. What is it? You gotta be there.
Staying in the Oil & Gas field. Scott Gale of Solvay, a relative surfactant newcomer but a veteran of the oil-patch, delivered a data-rich analysis of where the opportunities are for a committed player in this field. “Committed” is not just showing up with a product list, however. The supply chain and who captures the margin and wields the economic power in this sector, need careful study and lots of investment.
Moving above ground again, Susan Ferenc, President of the Council of Producers and Distributors of Agrotechnology, gave us a remarkably in-depth look at the role of surfactants as adjuvants in agricultural formulations. A high-touch, specialized and high stakes business.
Staying with the food supply chain, Paul Peeble of our sponsor Lambent then outlined his thoughts on “Surfactants and Food – A Supplier’s Perspective”. This talk gave further solid perspective to the question “what have surfactants done for us?” A lot, in the area of food. Another high touch and highly regulated industry, with potential for reward to companies who know what they are doing.
No conference would be complete without a look at innovation in the field of sustainabllity. Long-time conference supporter, Zschimmer & Schwarz covered the field and introduced two fascinating multi-functional innovations which we are sure to learn more about in the coming months: Monoethanolamine Lauryl Sulfate and Zinc Coceth Sulfate.
Rounding out the conference, Elevance continues to impress with a solid review of the revolution taking place in chemicals and surfactants and their role in it. Nove, specialty and large scale in one packet. Plants in Indonesia and the US and a partnership with our kick-off speaker, Stepan. Great stuff on which to end a tremendous 30 hours spent together.
Our next event is in Berlin on September 4th and 5th. It will sell out, so I hope you will book now if you want to attend. For this conference we have put together a partnership with CEFIC affiliate Bio-TIC to bring you a three day event (for the price of two). A pre-conference on bio-surfactants followed by our Third ICIS European Surfactants Conference. Until then, keep revisiting this blog for our monthly market updates.