Record Visitor Turnout Makes Chemspec India 2018 the Biggest Ever

The 14th edition of India’s only dedicated event for the fine and speciality chemicals community – Chem-spec India 2018 – provided the perfect gateway to tap business opportunities in this dynamic sector of the Indian chemical industry. With nearly 350 companies from India, Europe, the US, and China showcasing their products and services at the show this year, and a total trade attendance that crossed the 10,000-mark, this was the biggest event ever Chemspec India in the 14-year history of the exhibition since it was first held in Hyderabad.

Participating companies at the 2018 show, which was held from April 25-26, 2018, represented diverse sectors as organic & fine chemicals, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), drug intermediates, dyes & pigments, agrochemicals, contract & toll manufacturing, coatings, cosmetic chemicals/ingredients, pigments & solvents, surfactants, laboratory chemicals, and a host of speciality chemicals (water treatment chemicals, coating additives, catalysts, enzymes etc.).

Co-located events add capabilities on show

The 9th edition of Chemprotech India, an international event on chemical process equipment & technology; the 4th edition of ChemLogistics India, an international exhibition on chemical warehousing, transport & logistics, organised in association with Koelnmesse YA Tradefair; and the 3rd edition of ‘HPIC India’ featuring companies dealing in ingredients for home, personal & institutional care sectors; all held concurrently in the same Hall 1, added to the capabilities on display and made for a comprehensive offering to visitors.

An informative and exhaustive conference programme, which included six free-to-attend seminars, also enriched the visitor experience:

• The ‘Indian Surfactants Conference: Business Outlook & Challenges’ on April 25;

• Water Treatment Conference on April 25;

• The ‘Indian Home & Personal Care Industry: Market Opportunities & Challenges’ conference on April 25;

• ‘Indian Agrochemical Industry: Technology, Markets and Regulations’ conference on April 25;

• ‘Advances in Chemical Process Technology’ conference on April 26; and

• ‘Chemical Logistics and Regulations Conference’ on April 26.

“Full attendance at every conference confirmed the organiser’s belief that visitors to the expo are seeking more than just suppliers,” noted Mr. Ravi Raghavan, Editor, Chemical Weekly.

Chemspec India is organised by Chemical Weekly, India’s leading news magazine for the chemicals industry, and Mack Brooks Exhibitions, a leading UK-based trade events organiser & publisher of Speciality Chemicals magazine. The event has been supported year-on-year by all the major chemical industry associations including the Indian Chemical Council, Indian Speciality Chemical Manufacturers’ Association, Association of Small & Medium Chemical Manufacturers, and Chemical and Alkali Merchants’ Association.

Special pavilions at this year’s event were organised by China Council for Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and the China National Chemical Information Center (CNCIC), and included several Chinese companies keen to do business in India.

Buoyant mood in industry

The 2019 edition of Chemspec India will return to the same venue, i.e. Hall 1 of the Bombay Exhibition Centre, on April 16-17, 2019. “We have received an enthusiastic response for the 2019 event, and several exhibitors have already reconfirmed their presence with similar or enhanced space. This reflects very positively on the response that they have received over the two days this year, and on the buoyancy in the Indian chemical industry in general, and in the Indian fine and speciality chemicals industries, in particular,” Mr. Raghavan added.

The Indian speciality chemicals industry is expected to grow at 13-14% per annum for the near term, with segments like home & personal care ingredients, water treatment chemicals and construction chemicals expected to grow even faster. Many of these segments will receive special attention in the 2019 event.