Over the past days, I deliberately listened again to the interview on Handelsblatt Disrupt with BASF CEO Markus Kamieth. Not because it offers a completely new truth, but because it provides a rare level of clarity and realism that is often missing from the current debate.
What is said there is professionally sound. It is not about romantically defending chemistry in Europe. It is about making clear distinctions.
Not every stage of the value chain can still be operated competitively under European energy and cost structures. At the same time, there are areas of chemistry where Europe’s strengths are very clear. Highly specialized products, customer driven development, and value creation that is deeply embedded in industrial systems.
Why this matters to me in international procurement:
The discussion is too often driven by emotion. Either as a scenario of decline or as a location pledge without an economic foundation. Neither helps in day to day operations. Anyone who carries responsibility must accept that global division of labor is not a threat. It has been a reality for years.
In practical terms, this becomes visible in decisions about supplier portfolios, make or buy questions, investments in audits, and the deliberate separation of cost leadership and application competence along the value chain.
This also requires an honest view of Asia. Activities there are not a flaw and not a weakness. They are an integral part of the competitiveness of the European chemical industry. Base capacities, scale, and cost leadership are increasingly built there. This is not an ideological question. It is an operational one.
Europe does not automatically lose relevance because of this. On the contrary. Development, application expertise, and regulatory know how remain central pillars. But only if we stop morally judging global value creation and start managing it strategically.
The future of chemistry in Europe will not be decided by where a molecule is produced. It will be decided by how clearly we define and live our role within the global chemical system.
That’s the chemistry.
Siggi.
