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  • Pages
01 Cover
02 Welcome Letter / Sections
03 Section 1: Latin America
04 Latin America Resilience
05 Interview: APLA
06 Interview: S&P Commodity Insights
07 Interview: ExxonMobil Chemical
08 Interview: INEOS Styrolution Americas
09 Sustainability
10 Interview: Tecnon OrbiChem
11 Interview: Pilot Chemical Company
12 Interview: Air Products
13 Industry Thoughts: Decarbonization
14 Section 2: Mexico
15 Mexico Overview
16 Factsheet: Mexico
17 Interview: National Chemical Industry Association (ANIQ)
18 Interview: Braskem Idesa
19 Interview: Grupo Idesa
20 Interview: Evonik Industries Mexico
21 Interview: Unigel Mexico
22 Interview: Helm de Mexico
23 Section 3: Brazil
24 Brazil Overview
25 Factsheet: Brazil
26 Interview: ABIQUIM
27 Interview: Braskem
28 Interview: Indorama Ventures Limited
29 Interview: Elekeiroz
30 Interview: Petrom Petroquímica Mogi das Cruzes S.A.
31 Interview: Ultracargo
32 Section 4: Argentina
33 Argentina Overview
34 Factsheet: Argentina
35 Interview: Argentine Chamber of the Chemical and Petrochemical Industry (CIQyP)
36 Interview: Argentine Petrochemical Institute (IPA)
37 Interview: YPF QUÍMICA
38 Interview: Petrocuyo
39 Interview: Petroquímica Rio Tercero
40 Section 5: Andean Region
41 Andean Region Overview
42 Factsheet: Chile
43 Factsheet: Colombia
44 Interview: Acoplásticos
45 Interview: Chilean Chemical Industry Association (ASIQUIM)
46 Interview: Ecopetrol
47 Interview: Petroquim
48 Factsheet: Peru
49 Factsheet: Ecuador
50 Factsheet: Bolivia
51 Factsheet: Venezuela
52 Section 6: Chemical Distribution
53 Chemical Distribution
54 Interview: Brenntag Essentials Latin America
55 Interview: Univar Solutions
56 Interview: Química Anastacio
57 Interview: GTM Caldic
58 Interview: Pochteca
59 Interview: Tricon Energy
60 Section 7: Logistics
61 Logistics and Services
62 Interview: Leschaco
63 Interview: Vopak
64 Interview: Eurotainer
65 Interview: Stolthaven Terminals
66 Interview: Port of Antwerp-Bruges
67 Industry Thoughts: Logistics Innovation
68 Company Profiles (Sponsored Content)
69 Braskem Profile (Sponsored Content)
70 YPF QUÍMICA Profile (Sponsored Content)
71 Brenntag Profile (Sponsored Content)
72 Evonik Profile (Sponsored Content)
73 Article & Interview Index
74 Credits

Jan Krueder & Matthias Vorbeck, JK: CEO QUÍMICA ANASTACIO, MV: General Manager ANASTACIO OVERSEAS

"The company is expanding outside of Latam, opening two new offices in Nigeria and South Africa to penetrate the African market."

What would you say have been the biggest challenges faced by Química Anastacio and Anastacio Overseas recently?

JK: Forecasting has been a challenge since 2020 and is still complicated in today’s environmental due to variables such as capacity and demand coming back, commodity markets fluctuating, the impact of the pandemic and the situation in Ukraine. Government incentives also created some artificial demand that is not sustainable. However, during the pandemic we ensured that we kept strong relationships with partners and suppliers, made alternative plans in the over 60 countries we supply to and source from, put effort into logistics, and stocked higher inventories to ensure continuous operations and consistent supply to our customers. This model worked well in 2020 and 2021, and 2022 thus far has been successful.

MV: From the perspective of Anastacio Overseas, 2020 was a challenging year, but industries and businesses adapted and rebounded quite quickly. The main issue of logistics disruptions remains a challenge in the trading business – there are still delays from 6 to 12 weeks, so calculating distribution lead times is difficult. However, from a gross perspective, all our main segments such as polyurethanes, polymers, styrene, and special raw materials are growing. Furthermore, the financial strength of our group allowed us to purchase materials upfront, which was not always possible for our competitors.

How is the topic of ESG is influencing Química Anastacio’s approach to business?

JK: Customers are increasingly concerned with sustainability and want proof that their suppliers are environmentally responsible. We are communicating with suppliers to ensure that we obtain the necessary sustainability certificates. We already have the RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) certification and do regular audits on suppliers to ensure their ESG indexes comply with our standards and values.

On the governance side, we have monthly board meetings to check our own indexes and the diversity inside our company.

What is your outlook for the Latin American chemical sector in 2023 and targets for the year ahead?

MV: The economies of Latin America have continued with their post-pandemic rebound, but as global financial conditions are tightening and commodity prices are reversing their upward trend, we question if the demand for chemicals will maintain the uptrend. The chemical sector in particular faces significant challenges such as persistent inflation and energy insecurity. Russia-Ukraine conflict is still affecting the supply of some raw materials such as Maleic Anhydride and Acetone. Logistical bottlenecks keep freight rates high and the clogging of terminals spread the congestion affecting the main Latin American ports, so the logistical problems are still far from being solved.

MV: However, due to Anastacio Overseas’ business segment diversity, I believe we will continue to see growth and expect for Anastacio Overseas, the trading business of Anastacio Group, a U$S 250 million turnover in 2022, compared to the U$S 175 million in 2021. This will depend on maintaining the current quantities and adding more products to our portfolio.

What is the strategy to grow the two companies organically?

JK: Química Anastácio operates in 18 different segments. We understand that to fully service a segment, we should treat it as an individual company with its own strategy, technical team and marketing budget. The company intends to keep growing through launching 10 new products per month, which we believe will allow us to achieve our annual 15% growth target. If one segment runs into crisis, there are other segments which can compensate.

MV: We recently hired a professional with 20 years’ experience as head of our agribusiness, one of the key growth markets in Latin America. We launched our own brand of TiO2 for the coatings market in 2019, which we believe will bring substantial growth. The company is also expanding outside of Latam, opening two new offices in Nigeria and South Africa to penetrate the African market. In the polyurethane business – one of the main business lines of the company – we are deeply convinced we can go global in the next year given the experience we accumulated in-house during almost a decade.

Next:

Interview: GTM Caldic