The chemical industry is a type of industry in which the processing of raw materials by chemical methods is of key importance. The main materials used in this industry are various mineral raw materials and oil. The role of the chemical industry in the modern world is very great. Thanks to it, people can use various plastic and plastic products, as well as other products of oil refining. In addition, the industry provides explosives, fertilizers for agricultural needs, medications etc.

Development

The beginning of the history of this industry is considered to be the industrial revolution, which took place at the beginning of the 17th century. Until the 16th century, the "science of substances" generally developed very slowly, but as soon as people learned how to apply this knowledge in industry, much changed. The very first product of the chemical industry was sulfuric acid, which still remains an extremely important substance and is used in many areas of human activity. At that time, this compound was mainly used in the processing of metal ores necessary for industrial revolution a lot. The first enterprises for the production of sulfuric acid were created in England, France and Russia.

The second stage in the development of this area was the need for mass production of soda ash. This substance was necessary to ensure the production of glass and fabrics.

At the first stage, England made the biggest contribution to the development of the industry. With the growing interest in organic chemistry, the development of this science was increasingly influenced by Germany, whose scientists are still considered among the best specialists in this field. At the beginning of the 20th century, most of the chemical production was located in this country, which, according to some analysts, provided German leaders with confidence in victory in World War I due to the high quality of explosives and advanced research on chemical weapons. By the way, it was German troops who used military poison gas for the first time.

Branches of the chemical industry

Now both inorganic and organic chemistry are relevant, many discoveries are made every year in these areas. The most promising developments are:

• Oil refining.
• Creation of medicines.
• Creation of fertilizers.
• Creation of polymers and plastics.
• The study of the conductive properties of substances.

Scientists have been working on the creation of an ideal conductor for several decades. If successful, humanity will be able to use the planet's resources much more efficiently.

Chemical industry in Russia

Petrochemistry

Petrochemistry is a key branch of the chemical industry in Russia. This is largely due to the extremely important role of the oil refining industry in the country's economy. Educational institutions annually graduate tens of thousands of petrochemical specialists. The state also allocates a lot of money to sponsor research in this area.

The annual sales volume of all petrochemical industries is more than 500 billion rubles.

Ammonia production

Togliattiazot is one of the leading ammonia producers in the world. Since recently, the company has been producing more than 3 million tons of gas per year, which is an exceptionally high figure. According to experts, the share of this company in the world production of ammonia is from 8 to 10%, the company is also engaged in the production of mineral fertilizers and occupies about 20% of the Russian market in this sector.

Fertilizer production

An important part of the industry is the production of fertilizers. On the territory of Russia there are very large deposits of raw materials for this industry. The production of resources to create chemical fertilizers is also well developed. In Soviet times, the best scientists worked to improve the efficiency of fertilizers, who made many fundamental discoveries in this area. Thanks to this, Russia is one of the most important exporters of fertilizers.

Pharmaceutical industry

Production medicines and their components is a very promising direction. Currently, this industry does not cover Russian needs, and the creation of many drugs has not even been established. Therefore, every year foreign investors, including large chemical concerns, invest in the development of this industry. Nevertheless, a significant increase in production volumes and product quality, according to analysts, will occur at best in ten years.

Chemical industry in the world

The most developed chemical industry is in Germany, Great Britain and the USA. That is, among European countries, the most advanced are usually the states that have made a certain contribution to the development of chemistry as a science. In the case of the United States, this is due to favorable conditions for the development of chemistry and pharmacology: a good economic environment, the availability of large raw materials and a developed transport system, and the luring of the best specialists from other countries.

In particular, there are 2 companies from Germany, 2 from Great Britain and one from the USA in the top five concerns with the highest profit.

Briefly about the Performance Award:

1. First time in Russia - real and current picturewith performance at the enterprise level, plants, factories.
2. Data processed over 5000 industrial enterprises in Russia: total revenue - more than 55% of Russia's GDP, the number of employees - more than 5.5 million people.
3. As a result - TOP-1000 significant enterprises from key industries in Russia.
4. Industry reviews: Metallurgy, Energy, Engineering, Oil and gas production and oil refining, Chemical industry, Instrumentation, Radio-electronic industry, Production of building materials, Food industry, Electrical industry, Woodworking industry and pulp and paper mill, Light industry, etc.
5. For the first time in Russia - TOP-200 military-industrial complex enterprises.

More details about the results of the Prize can be found in previously published materials:

• Main results: All-Russian award "Labor Productivity: Russian Industry Leaders - 2015"
• TOP-50 regional leaders: All-Russian award "Labor Productivity - 2015"
• TOP-100 leaders of metallurgy: All-Russian award "Labor productivity - 2015"
• TOP-100 leaders of mechanical engineering: All-Russian award "Labor Productivity - 2015"

Data of the TOP-1000 leaders of Russia, TOP-300 leaders of Mechanical Engineering, TOP-200 leaders of the military-industrial complex, full reviews by industry, findings and analytics, comments and interviews with performance leaders will be published in the October issue Almanac "Production Management".

Expanded data on enterprises(in terms of sales, number of employees, etc.) are provided only to members Russian Performance Center. Also for members of the Russian Center for Productivity - an annual project " Operational efficiency of industrial enterprises in Russia: KPIs for senior management"- an applied tool for self-assessment of the activities of enterprises and the search for hidden reserves.

We are open for cooperation with all companies wishing to become a memberRussian Performance Center . You can send your applications and proposals to (please indicate the subject of the letter - "Russian Productivity Center"), and we will contact you.

Chemical industry in TOP-1000 represented by 117 enterprises. Their total revenue is more than 1.5 trillion rubles, the number of employees is more than 230 thousand people. In total, during the work on this project, data from 250 enterprises in the industry were studied.

The remuneration of many directors of corporations, holdings and enterprises in the industry already depends on such KPI as the growth of labor productivity. The data presented in the results of the Prize can become a practical tool for self-assessment and evaluation of their activities.

Labor productivity leaders in the chemical industry

1st place: Otispharm, labor productivity - 23.68 million rubles / person / year, which is more than 5.5 (!) times higher than the industry average(average - 3.98 million rubles / person / year).

2nd place: SIBUR, labor productivity - 15.99 million rubles / person / year

3rd place: PhosAgro-Cherepovets, labor productivity - 15.75 million rubles / person / year

Industry enterprises are leaders in terms of productivity in a number of regions of Russia:

• METACLAY - in the Bryansk region (labor productivity - 8.99 million rubles / person / year)
• PhosAgro-Cherepovets - in the Vologda region (labor productivity - 15.75 million rubles / person / year)
• Mineral fertilizers, Rossosh - in the Voronezh region (labor productivity - 6.77 million rubles / person / year)
• Pharmstandard-Leksredstva - in the Kursk region (labor productivity - 6.23 million rubles / person / year)
• Otisfarm - in Moscow (labor productivity - 23.68 million rubles / person / year)
• Mineral fertilizers, Perm (Uralchem) - in the Perm Territory (labor productivity - 13.47 million rubles / person / year)
• Togliattiazot - in the Samara region (labor productivity - 9.71 million rubles / person / year)
• Dorogobuzh (GC "Akron") - in the Smolensk region (labor productivity - 6.94 million rubles / person / year)
• Nevinnomyssky Azot (EuroChem) - in the Stavropol Territory (labor productivity - 8.75 million rubles / person / year)
• Polygran - in the Tver region (labor productivity - 7.64 million rubles / person / year)
• Novomoskovsk joint-stock company "Azot" (Evrokhim) - in the Tula region (labor productivity - 11.90 million rubles / person / year)
• Yaroslavl carbon black - in the Yaroslavl region (labor productivity - 11.40 million rubles / person / year)

TOP-100: Leaders in labor productivity of the chemical industry in Russia

№	Company	Productivity 2014, million rubles/person/year	Region
1	OTCPharm	23,68	Moscow
2	SIBUR	15,99	Moscow
3	PhosAgro-Cherepovets	15,75	Vologodskaya Oblast
4	Mineral fertilizers, Perm	13,47	Perm region
5	Novomoskovsk joint-stock company "Azot"	11,90	Tula region
6	Yaroslavl carbon black	11,40	Yaroslavl region
7	Nevskaya Cosmetics	11,15	St. Petersburg
8	Togliattiazot	9,71	Samara Region
9	METACLAY	8,99	Bryansk region
10	Nevinnomyssky Azot	8,75	Stavropol region
11	Aurat	8,54	Moscow
12	Ufaorgsintez	8,29	Republic of Bashkortostan
13	Valenta Pharm	8,15	Moscow region
14	Synthesis-Rubber	8,03	Republic of Bashkortostan
15	Nizhnekamskneftekhim	7,92	Republic of Tatarstan
16	Kovdorsky GOK	7,85	Murmansk region
17	Metafrax	7,70	Perm region
18	polyhedron	7,64	Tver region
19	Volzhsky Orgsintez	7,34	Volgograd region
20	Dorogobuzh	6,94	Smolensk region
21	Mineral fertilizers, Rossosh	6,77	Voronezh region
22	Kazanorgsintez	6,60	Republic of Tatarstan
23	Uralkali	6,57	Moscow
24	Pharmstandard-Tomskchimpharm	6,32	Tomsk region
25	PhosAgro	6,27	Moscow
26	Pharmstandard-Leksredstva	6,23	Kursk region
27	SDS-Azot (Kemerovo OJSC "Azot")	6,20	Kemerovo region
28	Pharmstandard	6,19	Moscow region
29	Kuibyshevazot	6,16	Samara Region
30	OSV Fiberglass	5,76	Vladimir region
31	PO "Electrochemical Plant"	5,72	Krasnoyarsk region
32	Akron Group	4,94	Novgorod region
33	Ivanovo carbon black and rubber	4,68	Ivanovo region
34	Novotroitsk Plant of Chromium Compounds	4,30	Orenburg region
35	ARNEST	4,16	Stavropol region
36	Khabarovsk plant "Bazalit DV"	4,06	Khabarovsk region
37	NPO Novodez	4,02	Moscow region
38	Kotlas chemical plant	4,01	Arhangelsk region
39	Nizhnekamskshina	3,91	Republic of Tatarstan
40	Aroma	3,91	Republic of Tatarstan
41	Russian paints	3,87	Yaroslavl region
42	Chemical industry complex	3,79	Nizhny Novgorod Region
43	Kuchuksulfate	3,78	Altai region
44	Tuymazycarbon black	3,75	Republic of Bashkortostan
45	Plant of ecological equipment and eco-food "DIOD"	3,73	Moscow
46	Siberian Chemical Combine (SKhK)	3,72	Tomsk region
47	Polymer	3,62	Leningrad region
48	Angarsk electrolysis chemical plant	3,62	Irkutsk region
49	Pigment	3,47	Tambov Region
50	Perfume and cosmetic company "Vesna"	3,45	Samara Region
51	Sayanskkhimplast	3,41	Irkutsk region
52	Novosibirsk Plant of Chemical Concentrates	3,26	Novosibirsk region
53	Omskshina	3,22	Omsk region
54	Uralchimplast	3,20	Sverdlovsk region
55	Odintsovo paint and varnish plant	3,18	Moscow region
56	Volgograd oxygen plant	3,09	Volgograd region
57	Pharmsintez	3,03	Irkutsk region
58	KAMTEX-Polyesters	2,84	Perm region
59	Tver fiberglass	2,73	Tver region
60	GLASS	2,66	Republic of Bashkortostan
61	Perm Polyesters	2,39	Perm region
62	Dzerzhinsky Production Association "Plastic"	2,38	Nizhny Novgorod Region
63	Plastic	2,31	Irkutsk region
64	Berezniki soda plant	2,28	Perm region
65	Voltyre-Prom	2,25	Volgograd region
66	Ural plant RTI	2,25	Sverdlovsk region
67	Krasnozavodsk Chemical Plant	2,22	Krasnoyarsk region
68	Polymer	2,18	Kemerovo region
69	Orgsintez	2,15	Nizhny Novgorod Region
70	Kraspharma	2,11	Krasnoyarsk region
71	HaloPolymer Perm	2,02	Perm region
72	Yaroslavl Tire Plant	2,00	Yaroslavl region
73	Resurrection mineral fertilizers	1,97	Moscow region
74	Khimprom	1,88	Chuvash Republic
75	Chemical fiber	1,87	Moscow region
76	Dalhimpharm	1,78	Khabarovsk region
77	Angarsk Plant of Catalysts and Organic Synthesis	1,76	Irkutsk region
78	BIOMED named after I.I. Mechnikov	1,71	Moscow region
79	EKTOS-Volga	1,63	Volgograd region
80	Kazan plant of synthetic rubber	1,60	Republic of Tatarstan
81	Lithium Element	1,57	Saratov region
82	Promsintez	1,56	Samara Region
83	Tyumen Chemical and Pharmaceutical Plant	1,54	Tyumen region
84	Tanning agent	1,53	Republic of Bashkortostan
85	Biochem	1,47	Tambov Region
86	Avanta	1,47	Krasnodar region
87	Irbit Chemical Pharmaceutical Plant	1,46	Sverdlovsk region
88	Omsk rubber	1,44	Omsk region
89	Tver Pharmaceutical Factory	1,40	Tver region
90	Ural Plant of Chemical Reagents	1,39	Sverdlovsk region
91	Polymertech	1,37	Nizhny Novgorod Region
92	Joint Stock Kurgan Society of Medical Preparations and Products "Synthesis"	1,34	Kurgan region
93	Ufa plant of elastomeric materials, products and structures	1,29	Republic of Bashkortostan
94	Izhevsk Plastics Plant	1,27	Republic of Udmurtia
95	Sintez-Kirovets	1,18	St. Petersburg
96	Quart	1,15	Republic of Tatarstan
97	Yaroslavl plant of finished dosage forms	1,14	Yaroslavl region
98	ORTAT	1,14	Kostroma region
99	Biosynthesis	1,10	Penza region
100	Kamteks-Khimprom	1,10	Perm region

Methodology for conducting the Performance Prize: the basis for the Prize was the data of enterprises from their questionnaires, as well as from open sources (quarterly and annual reporting). To calculate the productivity, data on revenue and the average number of enterprises for the 2014th year were used. Data in foreign currency are translated into rubles at the average weighted exchange rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation for 2014.

Do you want to improve operational efficiency and be among the leaders? JoinRussian Performance Center - You can send your applications and proposals to the address (please indicate the subject of the letter - "Russian Productivity Center"), and we will contact you.

The chemical industry is one of the avant-garde industries that ensure the development of the economy in the era of scientific and technological revolution. The development of the entire economy depends on its development, since it provides other industries with new materials, agriculture with mineral fertilizers and plant protection products, and the population with a variety of household chemicals.

The chemical industry has a complex sectoral composition. It includes:

· mining and chemical industry (extraction of raw materials: sulfur, apatite, phosphorites, salts);

basic chemistry (production of salts, acids, alkalis, mineral fertilizers);

· chemistry of organic synthesis (production of polymers - plastics, synthetic rubber, chemical fibers);

Other industries (household chemicals, perfumery, microbiological, etc.).

The peculiarities of the location of the chemical industry are determined by a combination of various factors. For mining and chemical - a natural resource factor determining, for basic and organic synthesis chemistry - consumer, water and energy.

There are 4 major regions of the chemical industry:

· Foreign Europe (Germany is in the lead);

North America (USA);

· East and Southeast Asia (Japan, China, Newly industrialized countries);

· CIS (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus).

The following countries are leading in the production of certain types of chemical products:

· in the production of sulfuric acid - USA, Russia, China;

· in the production of mineral fertilizers - USA, China, Russia;

· in the production of plastics - USA, Japan, Germany;

· in the production of chemical fibers - USA, Japan, Taiwan;

· in the production of synthetic rubber - USA, Japan, France.

The chemical industry has a significant impact on nature. On the one hand, the chemical industry has a wide raw material base, which makes it possible to dispose of waste and actively use secondary raw materials, which contributes to more economical consumption of natural resources. In addition, it creates substances that are used for chemical purification of water, air, plant protection, soil restoration.

On the other hand, it is itself one of the most "dirty" industries, affecting all components natural environment which requires regular environmental protection measures.

Plastic (chemical industry product):

Production volumes are constantly increasing, plastic is used in all spheres of life and production. The largest areas of application of plastics: 30% containers and packaging, building materials, electrical engineering and electronics. The world produces tens of thousands different types and names of plastics. Main:

polyethylene

polyvinyl chloride

polypropylene

prolisterol

The production of basic types of plastics is developing most rapidly in the countries of the Middle East, China, that is, the production of basic types of plastics is transferred to developing countries (produced from oil and gas raw materials). Developed countries, closing the old capacities for the production of ordinary types of plastics, are developing the production of the latest types of plastics, "smart plastics" that can replace blood, self-repair, biodegrade, and so on.

Especially for the portal "Perspectives"

Vladimir Kondratiev

Kondratiev Vladimir Borisovich - Doctor of Economics, Head of the Center for Industrial and Investment Research at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Another article from a cycle of materials on the situation in certain sectors of the economy in Russia and the world is devoted to the chemical industry, which is second only to pharmaceuticals in terms of labor productivity in the world, ahead of the automotive, electronics and other industries. However, in Russia it is perceived not as an integral part of competitive production that brings high profits, but only as one of the not very profitable (compared to direct oil and gas supplies) types of business. Privatization only intensified the deformation of the structure of the chemical industry that existed in the Soviet era, and domestic consumers are increasingly oriented towards foreign supplies.

The chemical industry is one of the most important basic sectors of the modern economy. Its products (70 thousand items) are widely used for the production of various consumer goods, as well as - in large volumes - in other sectors of the economy, such as agriculture, manufacturing, construction and services. The chemical industry itself consumes more than 25% of its own production of chemicals. Among the most important consumers of its products are the automotive, textile, clothing, metallurgy, etc.

Products of the chemical industry can be divided into four categories: basic chemicals (accounting for approximately 35-37% of the industry's global production), so-called life science products (30%), specialty chemicals (20-25%) and consumer goods (about 10%).

Base or "commodity" chemicals include polymers, bulk petrochemicals, basic industrial chemicals, inorganic chemicals, and mineral fertilizers. Over the past twenty years, this segment of the chemical industry has been developing at a relatively low rate - 50-70% of the average annual rate of world GDP. Polymers (including all types of plastics and chemical fibers) play a major role here, accounting for 33% of total base chemical sales.

The main markets for plastics are packaging, housing, container manufacturing, pipes, transportation, children's toys and games. Among the polymers, the largest share is polyethylene (PE), used for the production of containers, packaging, containers and pipes, films, various containers, technical fibers. Another important polymer is polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which is used in the manufacture of building pipes, finishing and heat-insulating materials, to a lesser extent - in the production of packaging and transport. Polypropylene (PP), in addition to the above mentioned markets, is used in the production of fabrics and carpets. Polystyrene (PS) is also used in the production of toys, car parts, radio industry.

The most important feedstock for the production of polymers are large-capacity petrochemicals and related chemicals, which, in turn, are produced from liquefied petroleum gas (NPG), natural gas and crude oil. The volume of sales of these materials is approximately 30% of the total production of base chemicals. Large-scale chemicals include ethylene, propylene, benzene, toluene, methanol, monomeric vinyl chloride, styrene, butadiene, etc. These chemicals are used to produce most polymers and other organic chemicals, as well as specialty chemicals.

Other chemical derivatives and base chemicals - synthetic rubber, varnishes and paints, turpentine, resins, soot, explosives and rubber products - account for approximately 20% of the production of all base chemicals.

Inorganic chemicals (constituting 12% of all industry base products) are the oldest chemical products. These include salt, chlorine, caustic soda, various acids (nitric, phosphoric, hydrochloric). Mineral fertilizers represent the least significant segment of base chemicals (about 6%) and include nitrogen, phosphate and potash fertilizers.

Life-support chemicals (constituting 30% of the total production of the chemical industry) include biological substances, pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, veterinary drugs, vitamins and pesticides. This segment of the chemical industry is developing at the fastest pace, which is 1.5-6 times higher than the average annual growth rate of world GDP. In addition, this is the most knowledge-intensive sector of chemistry: R&D costs here reach 15-25% of sales. The production of life-support chemicals is subject to a very high level of specification and government regulation and oversight by special agencies such as the US Food and Drug Administration. Pesticides, also referred to as "plant protection chemicals", make up about 10% of this group of chemicals and include herbicides, insecticides and fungicides.

Specialty chemicals are relatively high value-added products and are a relatively fast-growing innovative segment of the chemical industry with a differentiated end market. The growth rate of this segment is on average 1.5-3 times higher than the growth rate of world GDP. These products are valued in the market for their special functional qualities. These include electronic chemicals (designed for electronic devices and equipment), industrial gases, adhesives , various protective coatings , industrial cleaning chemicals, catalysts. Specialty chemicals are also called "fine chemicals"

Consumer chemicals include soaps, detergents and cosmetics. The growth rates of this segment of chemistry are generally in line with the GDP growth rates.

The United States remains the world's largest producer of chemical products. They accounted for 18.6% of world chemicals production in 2009 (Table 1).

Table 1. World production of chemical products, billion dollars

	The country	1998.	Share, %	2009.	Share, %
	Germany
	Great Britain
	Brazil
	South Korea
	Other countries

A source

In the United States, about 96% of all manufacturing industries are somehow connected with chemical production and its products. The US chemical industry directly employs 900,000 people, and given that each job in this industry creates an additional 5 jobs in related industries, a total of 4.6 million jobs in the US economy are directly or indirectly tied to the chemical industry. Chemical production is relatively highly paid: the average level wages here is 78 thousand dollars per year, which is 43% higher than the average for the manufacturing industry .

The United States annually exports over $170 billion worth of chemical goods, which is 10% of American exports. The volume of annual capital investments in the industry reaches 15 billion dollars, or 3.1% of sales. For comparison, in the pharmaceutical industry, the level of capital investments is $5 billion, or 2.6% of sales. At the same time, in the last decade, the volume of capital investment in American chemistry has been declining: for 1999-2009. it decreased from 20 to 14.9 billion US dollars are a net importer of chemical products. As the manufacturing base of the US manufacturing industry increasingly moves overseas to give way to the service industry, chemical consumption is relatively declining, and the rate of investment in new chemical capacity is much slower than in other parts of the world.

Western Europe is a traditional major center of the chemical industry. In Europe (especially in Germany), this industry is one of the most important sectors of the economy. In total, 3.6 million people are employed in the European chemical industry, and the number of companies is 60 thousand. The industry's products account for 65% of European foreign trade turnover.

However, for the period 1999-2009. the share of this region in the total world sales of chemicals decreased from 32% to 24%. Germany remains the largest producer here. It is followed by France, Great Britain and Italy. These four countries account for 88% of all Western European chemical production. Of the total chemical production Western Europe 60% are basic chemicals, including petrochemicals and basic inorganic chemicals, 26% are specialty chemicals (varnishes, paints, plant protection products, pigments and additives) and 14% are consumer chemicals.

The main driver of the growth of the Western European chemical industry was the abolition of trade and non-trade barriers between European countries. There are currently 500 million chemical users within the European Union, with sales of $222 million in 2009 (1999: $98 million). Over the same period, domestic consumption of chemical products decreased from $183 million to $110 million, while the share of exports increased from 16% in 1995 to 26% in 2009.

In terms of labor productivity, the chemical industry is second only to pharmaceuticals (Fig. 1). At the same time, it is ahead of the automotive industry and the production of computers by 1.4 times, general engineering - by 1.7 times, the manufacturing industry - by 1.9 times, and the food industry - by 3.3 times.

There are 29,000 industrial enterprises in the Western European chemical industry. However, 96% of them are small and medium enterprises with less than 250 employees. At the same time, 61% are micro-companies with the number of employees from 1 to 9 people.

Rice. one. The level of labor productivity in various sectors of Western European industry in 2006 (index of conditionally net production per employee, chemistry - 100)

A source: Eurostat and Cefic Chemdata International.

In general, the Western European chemical industry is highly fragmented and has a number of structural weaknesses, such as insufficient production scale, relatively low integration of assets, and high costs for chemical feedstock. For example, 60% of all European HDPE plants are small (compared to global standards) and not well integrated with chemical feedstock sources. As a result, the production costs of European chemical companies are 50% higher than those of companies from the Middle East. One of the most important areas for increasing the competitiveness of the European chemical industry is the process of consolidation. The experience of other capital-intensive industries shows that a sufficient level of profitability and efficiency is achieved when the four largest companies in the industry account for at least 70% of all manufactured products in the country. It is this level that provides the optimal combination of competition and price stability.

Despite the wave of mergers and acquisitions that has taken place, the optimal level of concentration in the Western European chemical industry has so far been reached only in the production of styrene monomers. The level of production of polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride and polystyrene is close to optimal. According to experts, the European chemical industry will have to carry out another 20-25 major asset consolidation deals.

The share of the United States and other leading developed countries in the world production of chemical products has decreased markedly over the past decade due to the progress of this industry in developing countries. Industrialized countries have concentrated the bulk of the production of high-tech materials for special purposes through innovation and long-term targeted structural adjustment. At the same time, large-scale production, which has not lost its importance as the main supplier of basic products for the chemical industry, is being actively transferred to regions provided with inexpensive raw materials and cheap labor. For example, if the creation of a capacity for polyethylene in Venezuela requires 0.9 thousand dollars per unit of production (1 ton), then in Sweden it is almost 1.5 thousand dollars.

China has achieved the most phenomenal results. For 1998-2009 chemical production in this country has grown almost 6 times. China has firmly taken second place in the world after the US, threatening to overtake the leader in the coming years.

Rice. 2. Projected growth rates of the chemical industry in 2010-2020 by leading producing countries, %

A source:AmericanChemistry Council.

Rice. 3. New capacities of the chemical industry in 2010-2020, %

1 - Middle East; 2 - Asia; 3 - North America; 4 - other countries

A source:StrategicresourcesInc.

According to experts, by 2015 China will become the world's leading producer of chemicals, its share will be 12-14%. The US will increasingly focus on innovation, process improvement and services. Production will shift towards pharmaceuticals while growth in base chemicals and plant protection products will decline.

Chemical companies in developed countries can be divided into three groups. The first group is formed by "commodity players", which produce mainly basic chemicals and plastics. They account for about a third of all global chemical industry sales. The most prominent representatives of this group are Dow Chemical (USA) and Shell Chemical (UK). The second group includes companies that produce special types of chemicals for certain consumers. These include, for example, the Swiss Clariant Chemical and the German Ciba Specialty Chemicals, which mainly produce paints and pigments for the textile and light industries. They account for 25% of world chemical production. Finally, the third group is the so-called hybrid or diversified companies that produce a wide range of chemical products along the entire value chain. This group includes such giants as BASF, Bayer, DuPont, Mitsubishi Chemical, and it accounts for 40% of world production. The world's leading chemical companies are large diversified corporations (Table 2).

Table 2. The largest chemical corporations in the world

	Company	Production volume in 2007, billion dollars
	BASF (Germany)
	Dow Chemical (USA)
	INEOS (UK)
	LyondellBasell (USA)
	Formosa Plastics (Taiwan)
	Saudi Basic Industries
	Bayer (Germany)
	Mitsubishi Chemical (Japan)
	AkzoNobel/Imperial Chemical Industries (UK)

A source: American Chemistry Council, Global Business of Chemistry Statistics March 2011.

The largest chemical corporations in the world are American companies such as Dow Chemical, LyondellBasell and DuPont, which are among the top five world leaders. In addition to them, there are 170 other large chemical companies in the USA. They have 1700 branches and 2800 factories worldwide.

For a long time, chemical companies in developed countries relied on traditional business strategies, trying to extract only additional added value from the underlying assets used. In the 1970s and 1980s, the main emphasis was on improving the basic functions of sales and technological processes. The 1990s saw consolidation and restructuring aimed at achieving economies of scale and reducing costs.

Before the 2008 crisis, this strategy brought some success to chemical companies in developed countries, and their efficiency was higher than that of companies operating in other basic sectors of heavy industry, such as metallurgy and woodworking. So, earnings per share for 1990-2008. in the chemical industry grew 5 times, while in the automotive industry - 3 times, in metallurgy and woodworking - 1.5 times. The 2008 crisis brought down prices and stock prices, which have not yet recovered.

It cannot be said that the strategy of using capital-intensive assets has exhausted itself. It has been adopted by emerging chemical companies in Asia and the Middle East. In the developed countries of North America and Europe, the prospects and possibilities of traditional strategies have largely been exhausted. Prospects for development within the framework of the old capital-intensive strategy remain only with the concentration of production on the core competencies of companies, in those areas of the chemical business where the competitive advantages of a particular company are most clearly expressed. This applies primarily to diversified corporations that are trying to sell off non-core assets and buy those that are close to key businesses. Such a strategy, according to experts, can be successful in the next five to ten years. In the long term, chemical companies in developed countries rely on a knowledge-based development strategy.

This strategy has five major areas. The first is related to a fundamental change in the business model and the use of information technology and the Internet to better serve consumers and start new companies. This may involve the development of a completely new technological process for the production of existing chemicals based on the use of biotechnology and combinatorial chemistry. For example, in 2008-2010 alone, the American company Archer Daniels Midland, using the method of biological fermentation instead of traditional chemical synthesis, managed to reduce production costs by 60%, and its net profit in 2010 amounted to more than $ 2 billion.

Another leader in the field of combinatorial chemistry is the American company Symyx Technologies. These technologies help the company develop new materials for the chemical and electronics industries. Traditionally, new materials are developed through labor-intensive and expensive trial-and-error processes. The use of combinatorial technologies makes it possible to find new materials and compounds hundreds of times faster and, thus, reduce the costs of experiments to 1% of the traditional ones.

Another direction of the knowledge-based strategy is the use of the methods of financial companies in doing business. In the chemical industry of developed countries, various venture companies, mutual funds, and institutional investors, such as Sterling Group, Kohlberg Kraves Roberts, and Schroder Ventures, are active, often acquiring large blocks of shares in chemical companies and restructuring them in order to increase their market value. Venture capital funds actively support new biotechnology "start-ups" for their subsequent sale to large chemical corporations. For example, Sterling Group, having bought Cain Chemical for $28 million and then using various management mechanisms such as profit sharing, employee involvement in management and ownership, as well as stock options, was able to reduce administrative and overhead costs by 60%, increase profits by 7%, production volumes - by 25% and eventually sell the company for $1.1 billion.

The third direction of the innovation strategy is the creation of efficient markets. In the late 1990s, two companies, Chemdex and CheMatch.com, created an online marketplace for sellers and buyers of chemicals, plastics, and petroleum products. Already by July 2000, Chemdex's market capitalization reached $1.4 billion. And in the 2000s, many of the largest corporations - BASF, Bayer, Dow Chemical, DuPont - created their own online platforms for trading chemicals. Transparent pricing and trading allowed the use of financial derivatives for chemicals such as polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene low pressure and styrenes.

Another direction of the innovation strategy is the use of "hidden" assets. Many chemical corporations have built up a wide range of intangible assets over a long period of time, such as brands, patents, consumer data banks, institutional experience, and so on. However, few have been able to use these assets to their maximum potential. DuPont is one of them. The company actively applies its experience in the safe operation of chemical plants. At its enterprises, the minimum, compared with other chemical companies, the number of lost working days due to any incidents was recorded. Some time ago, this company decided to take on the role of teaching others about safe production in chemical plants. Another example is Dow Intellectual Asset Management, a global technology center for intellectual asset management, where a multidisciplinary team of experts is looking for effective ways to license the patents that Dow Chemical Corporation has acquired over the past decades.

Finally, many companies are trying to expand their participation in various parts of the value chain. For example, Dow Chemical, instead of selling the rubber it produces to manufacturers of medical gloves, is now making them itself. Similarly, BASF Coatings no longer sells its paints to car manufacturers, but itself paints cars produced by leading automakers. Leveraging its strengths in understanding painting processes and chemical engineering, BASF has significantly improved the quality of its work and reduced the consumption of paints and varnishes.

The phenomenal growth of the chemical industry in developing countries was associated not only with relatively low costs for the main chemical raw materials - natural and associated gas (Fig. 4), but also with intensive state support for this industry. Thus, import tariffs on chemical products are still 1.5 times higher in many developing countries than in developed ones. However, the direct support of the state plays an even more important role.

Rice. 4. Costs of natural gas production by countries and regions, USD/mln BTU

A source:AmericanChemistryCouncil.

The Saudi government, after the oil shocks of the early 1970s, decided to make better use of associated petroleum gas from oil production and develop its national chemical industry. To do this, it was decided to turn the small fishing village of Jubail on the coast of the Persian Gulf into a modern industrial center. In 1976, the state chemical company Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) was founded here. A year later, active construction of the necessary infrastructure began. Due to a shortage of qualified labor force, the company began to send its employees for internships in the United States and enter into partnership agreements with Western companies to assist in the organization of technological processes.

By the end of 1977, SABIC entered into partnership agreements with companies such as Dow Chemical, Exxon, Mitsubishi in order to obtain technology, training and marketing support in exchange for their access to cheap sources of raw materials. By 1979, the first subsidiaries of SABIC began to appear: AR-RAZI, also known as the Saudi Methanol Company (created in partnership with Mitsubishi Gas Chemical to produce methanol); SAMAD, or Al-Jubail Fertilizer Company (joint venture with Taiwan Fertilizer Company) for the production of nitrogen fertilizers.

Thirty years after its founding, SABIC has grown into one of the largest chemical corporations in the world, with approximately 30,000 people employed in 60 plants in 40 countries. The state retains full control over the company, holding 70% of its shares. The rest of the shares can be held mainly by residents of Saudi Arabia and neighboring countries of the Persian Gulf.

Today SABIC is a broadly diversified corporation operating in such segments as base chemicals, specialty chemicals, polymers, mineral fertilizers and metals. In 2007, SABIC bought US-based GE Plastics for $11 billion to form the Innovative Plastics Division. As Charlie Crew, President of SABIC Innovative Plastics, "We are taking aggressive steps to accelerate our development and production of the latest high performance and high quality materials, and our goal is to create the most innovative products and bring them to today's market." Indeed, SABIC invested about $20 billion in new projects in 2008, and by 2010 planned to increase the level of capital investments to $70 billion. This allows it to increase the production of chemical products by almost 2.5 times (Fig. 5).

Rice. five. Volumes of production of chemical products by SABIC, mln tons

Source: company's annual reports.

China's modern chemical industry has been largely shaped by Western foreign direct investment. The largest chemical corporations in developed countries began to transfer their production facilities to China, following their main customers - automotive, communications and textile companies, attracted by the size of the market and low costs. The average labor cost in the Chinese chemical industry is less than 1 euro per hour (for comparison: in Poland - 5 euros, in Germany - 20 euros). Construction costs are also significantly lower here.

The Chinese government has encouraged the formation of state-owned chemical companies, such as China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec, founded in 2000), China National Chemical Corporation (ChemCnina, founded in 2004), and others. At the same time, foreign companies can enter the Chinese market only through creation of joint ventures with Chinese companies, with the transfer of advanced chemical technologies to them.

China specializes mainly in the production of basic chemicals (organic and inorganic fertilizers, ethylene, propylene, benzene, etc.). For this, a number of investment incentives are used, including the creation of industrial parks like the Shanghai one. The German company BASF was one of the first Western chemical corporations to enter the Chinese market. In 2005, BASF and China's Sinopec launched a large plant for the production of basic chemicals and plastics in Nanjing with a capacity of 2 million tons of chemical products per year, employing 1.5 thousand people. This complex is capable of processing crude oil into its main base components: ethylene and propylene, from which plastics are then used in the automotive, shipbuilding, IT and toy industries. Subsequently, BASF began building large chemical complexes in Shanghai and Caojing.

China is increasingly developing the segment of specialty chemicals, the share of which is planned to increase from 30 to 45% in the coming years. Particular emphasis is placed on the production of dyes used in textile industry. Currently, China produces about 30% of the world's chemical fibers and threads. The country has already become the world's largest producer of synthetic dyes and chemical pigments.

The Russian chemical industry ranks eleventh in the world in terms of production volume (Table 1). The share of the industry in the total industrial production of the country is 6%. 7% of fixed assets are concentrated in chemical enterprises (fifth place after mechanical engineering, fuel industry, energy and metallurgy), providing 8% of the value of industrial exports and 7% of tax revenues to the budget.

Institutional transformations that have taken place since the beginning of market reforms have significantly changed the structure of chemical production by form of ownership: to date, the chemical complex has the smallest group of enterprises remaining in state ownership. As a result of privatization, controlling stakes in a significant part of chemical enterprises passed into the hands of external investors. These are mainly oil and gas companies, mostly domestic, united in large vertically integrated financial and industrial groups, such as Gazprom, Tatneft, Lukoil, etc.

The formation of consolidated chemical plants, the efficiency and competitiveness of which is due to the synergistic effect of the integration of oil and gas processing and petrochemistry, is a global practice. However, in Russia, the consolidation of property based on proximity to raw material flows did not give a positive result, since it did not take place as a long-term logical development of business, but almost simultaneously, in the conditions of a deep economic crisis and a sharp reduction in domestic solvent demand, when 60% of the industry's products turned out to be unclaimed.

As a result, domestic raw materials producers, who have monopoly positions and lobbying opportunities, have perceived the chemical industry not as an integral part of a competitive business that brings high profits, but only as one of the least profitable (compared to direct oil and gas supplies) markets. The new owners of chemical facilities have focused on the industries that give quick returns - primary petrochemicals and mineral fertilizers, which currently account for 64% of the value of the industry's products and 70% of the value of its exports.

From 1996 to 2000, among the 33 largest Russian companies, the share of petrochemical companies increased from 13% to 26%, those producing mineral fertilizers - from 18% to 24%, and mining and chemical companies - from 8% to 10%. At the same time, manufacturers of further processing products intended for the domestic market either dropped out of the ranks of the largest companies (chemical fibers) or practically did not change their positions (plastics). And domestic consumers of chemical products are increasingly oriented towards foreign supplies: since 2002, for the first time, Russia has become a net importer of chemical products with a negative foreign trade balance of $400 million.

Thus, privatization only increased the deformation of the structure of the chemical industry that existed in the Soviet era. In fact, the chemical industry has been divided into two parts: basic large-capacity and petrochemical industries that are part of vertically integrated companies and develop in accordance with the interests of the owners of raw materials, on the one hand, and enterprises that produce products for the domestic market, under pressure from foreign competitors, and all the growing shortage of raw materials - on the other.

Among the main problems that determine the features of the current state and prospects for the development of the chemical complex are equipment wear (60-80%, one of the highest rates among industries) and its ongoing aging. The share of equipment over 30 years old is 65% in the production of polyethylene, and 70% in the production of polyvinyl chloride. Over the past six years, total investments in the industry amounted to $14 billion. According to experts, no more than $5 billion was invested in new machinery and equipment, while most of it was spent on current technological repairs, power generation and export terminals.

The state, counting on the activity of private investors, has almost completely withdrawn from financial support for the industry, allocating less than 0.1% of the total amount of industry capital investments as part of targeted investment support for socially significant industries (pharmaceuticals for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, insulin, iodine preparations, feed proteins).

A significant brake on the development of the Russian chemical industry is the lack of large efficient companies capable of competing on an equal footing with the leading global players. Thus, in 2009, the largest Russian chemical company Sibur Holding had a turnover of about 5.3 billion dollars, about eight times behind the Saudi SABIC in this indicator and two times behind the Japanese Shin-Etsu Chemical, which occupies the twentieth line among the world's manufacturers. Other large Russian companies, such as Salavatnefteorgsintez, Evrokhim and Nizhnekamskneftekhim, in turn, are two to three times behind Sibur in terms of turnover. In addition, Sibur employs almost twice as many people as SABIC. In other words, in terms of labor productivity, Russian chemical companies are generally not comparable to world leaders (Table 3).

Table 3 Key performance indicators of chemical companies SABIC and Sibur Holding in 2009

Designed to showcase the industry's most outstanding achievements. Representatives of the largest centers of the chemical industry will take part in the event. Enterprises will present their best products and the latest developments that have not yet entered mass production. Consumers will be able to evaluate these new products, and manufacturers based on feedback will draw conclusions about their new products. The exposition is held in an international format. It will combine the industry and research industry. The largest suppliers of chemicals, equipment, and the latest technologies will meet in one place with consumers of their products in order to assess the significance and level of development of the chemical segment today.

The assortment of the chemical industry includes over 80 thousand items. The sales market for this segment is metallurgical, textile, automotive industry, agriculture.

The largest chemical complexes of the Russian Federation

The chemical industry in Russia is at a decent level of development. The share of exports in total production reaches 20%. Russian industry is a huge number of factories, each of which specializes in a particular product. All chemical enterprises can be divided into 2 groups. The first is enterprises whose activities relate to basic chemistry, that is, mineral-based products are produced (fertilizers for soil, acids, alkalis, soda, etc.). The second group includes enterprises engaged in organic chemistry, that is, those that produce fibers, resins, synthetic rubber, rubber, polymeric materials, etc.

The centers of the chemical industry are concentrated mainly in the areas of their raw material and energy supply. The problem is that most of them are far removed from their consumer market. But now, thanks to the availability of highways and various types transport, this difficulty is no longer of decisive importance. So, in the Central region, the chemical centers are the cities of Yaroslavl and Ryazan. The factories located there specialize in the manufacture of fertilizers and plastics. In the Volga region, the cities of Balakovo, Nizhnekamsk and Volzhsky can be distinguished. The factories of these cities produce rubber and synthetic fibers. In the North-Western region, the centers are St. Petersburg and Novgorod. Fertilizers and household chemicals are produced there.

Thus, we can conclude that the majority of chemical enterprises are concentrated in the European part of the Russian Federation. Siberia is not so rich in chemical industry plants, although it has a significant share of resources that have not yet been fully explored and developed.

World chemical industrial centers: their activities and location

The chemical sector is inextricably linked with the scientific and technical sphere and the degree of its development. This is what determined the high level of the chemical industry in the West and in the United States. In developed countries, this area has been improved and brought to a new level. On a global scale, there are 4 main areas where the chemical sector is most developed. In the first place are European countries: Germany, England, France, Italy, the Netherlands. These countries provide about 25% of world exports. Germany is the leader among these countries.

The second area is North America, namely the USA. This power is one of the world's largest suppliers of chemical products. It accounts for more than 20% of world exports.

In third place in the country East Asia of which Japan stands out the most. China and Korea follow. The fourth place is deservedly occupied by Russia. The share of export products on a global scale is about 5%.