Specialty Chemicals:

Specialty and water soluble polymers, water management chemicals, construction chemicals, industrial and institutional cleaning chemicals, feed additives, surfactants, food additives, flavor & fragrance chemicals, photographic chemicals, electronic chemicals, catalysts, dyestuffs and pigments, enzymes, biocides, oil additives, high purity chemicals, cosmetic chemicals, textile chemicals, adhesives/sealants, specialty coatings, specialty paper chemicals, rubber processing chemicals, oilfield chemicals, etc.

Specialty chemicals are chemicals will high added value that can be added to wide diversity of products in relatively small amounts to enhance the their performance, effect, and other characteristics. The term “specialty chemicals” has been used loosely and interchangeably with the terms “fine chemicals” and “performance chemicals”, and their key point of differentiation from commodity chemicals is that specialty chemicals are sold on the basis of their function rather than their composition. Specialty chemicals can be single chemical entities or formulations, and can be classified based on their application (oil field chemicals, textile chemicals, food additives, construction chemicals, specialty paper chemicals, etc.) or function (catalysts, adhesives/sealants, corrosion inhibitors, antioxidants, specialty pigments, demulsifiers, rheology modifiers, water soluble polymers, etc.).

Specialty chemicals are a diverse portfolio of chemicals which find their way into everyday products used and consumed across the globe. Specific segments of the specialty chemicals space have the ability to grow quickly as demand increases in their end markets and hence the specialty chemical industry lacks the cyclicality of the overall general chemical industry. The increase in per capita disposable income in rapidly modernizing countries such as China as well as and renewed consumer spending in established markets such as North America, Europe, and Japan are some of the mega trends driving their demand.

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