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Entrepreneurial small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are an essential part of any diversified economy, driving growth and providing a huge amount of employment and prosperity.
The global chemical industry benefits hugely from the hundreds of thousands of smaller businesses that provide services and expertise, particularly in distribution and research and development.
Their activities go largely unnoticed and under-reported. So it is with great pleasure that the key theme of this issue is these unsung heroes of the chemical sector.
The statistics are startling, as they show just how significant the SME sector is: in the European Union alone, there were 39,661 chemical industry SMEs in 2007 compared with only 1,462 larger enterprises. They employed more than 600,000 people (1.2m for larger companies) and generated €386bn in sales compared with €543bn for larger groups.
SMEs are being forced to comply with legislation such as Europe's Reach without the bureaucratic resources of their larger cousins. It is vital that their voice is heard at the highest level of government and policy-making - yet they don't have significant lobbying power. Legislators must take notice of the fact that many SMEs feel they are being strangled by red tape.
The global chemical industry benefits hugely from the hundreds of thousands of smaller businesses that provide services and expertise, particularly in distribution and research and development.
Their activities go largely unnoticed and under-reported. So it is with great pleasure that the key theme of this issue is these unsung heroes of the chemical sector.
The statistics are startling, as they show just how significant the SME sector is: in the European Union alone, there were 39,661 chemical industry SMEs in 2007 compared with only 1,462 larger enterprises. They employed more than 600,000 people (1.2m for larger companies) and generated €386bn in sales compared with €543bn for larger groups.
SMEs are being forced to comply with legislation such as Europe's Reach without the bureaucratic resources of their larger cousins. It is vital that their voice is heard at the highest level of government and policy-making - yet they don't have significant lobbying power. Legislators must take notice of the fact that many SMEs feel they are being strangled by red tape.
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