What has been the impact of the pandemic for Univar Solutions, and which industries are showing more resilience?

The health and safety of our employees and business partners is our number one priority. All the protocols that have been quickly implemented are working effectively and our sites continue to be operational and are virus-free. We rely on our front-line employees, who continue to work effectively at our sites delivering the products and services to our customers. For that, I want to show one more time my appreciation for the work performed by our teams with safety and integrity in the various sites in Latin America. Our employees working from home are highly productive and our capillarity increased dramatically overnight, since our entire commercial organization is now all using technology to serve customers and supplier partners and doing it more efficiently. We are now refining our plans to return safely to the workspace.

Since we have a broad product portfolio serving several markets, our business overall showed a great level of resilience. The increased cleaning standards and higher demand of sanitizers have helped the home and industrial cleaning market, while agriculture, food, and beauty and personal care showed typical resilience.

With the change in business environment and the impact of Covid-19, we recently announced the Streamline 2022 program, which is designed to accelerate growth and increase earnings through a renewed focus on operational efficiency, the integration of our company’s digital capabilities, as well as a global approach to the beauty care and nutrition markets.

How does Univar Solutions see the industry transforming with regards to sustainability?

We have a plan that drives change in support of more sustainable practices. In 2018 we became a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact, reaffirming our commitments to responsible business. We continue to implement the principles set out in our Global Sustainability Policy to minimize environmental impacts and promote resource conservation. To maintain its course, it is crucial that our efforts remain material and allow us to deliver value to all stakeholders.

We see ourselves leading the way to sustainability in the region. Our partnership with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to eliminate the use of HCFC (hydrochlorofluorocarbon) in polyurethanes, introducing technologies free of ozone-destructive substances and with low global warming potential, our continuous development work with our supplier partners and customers to introduce clean, green and safer technologies for paints, food, personal care and other markets are few examples of a series of positive impacts we are offering.

How relevant are specialty chemicals for your business?

The great majority of our business is composed of specialty chemicals that serve markets that demand a higher level of technology and development support. Our customers and supplier partners are supported by 13 Solution Centers in Latin America. We recently invested in a brand-new microbiology laboratory at our site in Osasco, Brazil.

How is digitalization changing business processes for distributors? Could you elaborate on Univar’s digital platforms?

Digitalization is a game changer and growth enabler. Our digital strategy is designed to enhance and differentiate the customer experience, reach new markets and customers, and accelerate growth. We already work with ChemPoint in the region, a platform that enables our supplier partners to reach a broad coverage of customers by using innovative technology which offers a different go-to-market, changes customer engagement and provides best-in-class service for certain specific markets. Also, more recently we connected our ERP with a few large customers in order to bring efficiency to the order processing and mitigating any risks.

What is your final message for the delegates of APLA and the audience of Global Business Reports?

Latin America is a large market but challenging, and not necessarily easy to do business in. Our chemical industry is very significant in size and relevant to the economic development of the region and the people living here. Latin America has good technology, a trained workforce and a strong regulatory framework, but we still need relevant basic reforms to help businesses and economies thrive.