Today, representatives of the ChemMed cluster presented ChemMed in France as well as in Germany. The two delegations highlighted Tarragona’s desire to continue leading the chemical sector in southern Europe and attracting investments related to the chemical industry.
Chemical Valley, France
This afternoon the president of ChemMed I and the chairman of the AEQT presented the Mediterranean chemical cluster, ChemMed Tarragona, in Lyon, France. Jesús Loma Ossorio gave a presentation within the framework of the conference sponsored by the “Agence d’urbanisme pour le développement de l’agglomération lyonnaise”, an organisation that promotes economic and regional development. In his speech, the president of the cluster outlined the competitive advantages of Tarragona’s chemical hub, the most important of its kind in southern Europe. Loma explained that the cluster is the result of the union of stakeholders related to the chemical sector in the region, led by the AEQT and the Port of Tarragona. After his corporate presentation, the director of Bayer MaterialScience for the Iberian Peninsula region spoke about urban development in Tarragona and its links with the chemical industry. Loma explained that Tarragona uses a collaborative model in which all parties are heard, which has created a harmonious relationship between the general public, the chemical industry and other stakeholders and the region’s business community.
After the ChemMed Tarragona speech, Werner Buch from the Frankfurt City Planning Office gave a presentation focusing on the balanced relationship between urban growth in his area and the different local business enterprises. Prior to these two speeches, the hosts also took their turns at the podium. Vincent Couturier and Lionel Arambourg briefly introduced the conference.
Couturier and Arambourg used the opportunity to present Lyon’s Chemical Valley to the members of ChemMed that same morning. During the trip, visitors had the chance to see the facilities of the IFP (the French Institute of Petroleum), which conducts research and educates professionals in the chemical sector and related fields. Attendees also learned about the size and scope of the chemical industry on the shores of Rhone River in the second largest metropolitan area in France.
Euroforum in Germany
That same morning, as the president was learning about the French project, the general director of the cluster, accompanied by Antoni Torà from BASF Española, was presenting the ChemMed project in Germany, at the Euroforum event in Cologne. In her speech, Pallarès underscored the main strengths the cluster used to create an ideal place for investment. The merging of forces, infrastructures and related services, and the wealth of talent in the region were among the points she brought to the debate table in Germany. The director of the cluster and of the AEQT emphasised the leading role of the chemical capital of southern Europe while explaining future projects to make Tarragona’s chemical hub even more competitive.
Pallarès gave the presentation along with Antoni Torà, the site services manager at BASF Española in Tarragona. The BASF representative who accompanied the cluster’s representative to Euroforum explained that BASF Tarragona had become a multi-company site. Torà stated that the site currently accommodates seven companies and that BASF provides different services to these as well as to other nearby companies. The German firm currently occupies 112 hectares in Tarragona, of which 20 are available for new investment.
BASF’s site services manager took advantage of the opportunity to announce the début of its new inter-modal terminal, which will provide rail service between Tarragona and the rest of Europe. The new system will have a capacity of eight trains per day and will operate 24 hours a day. The new station is the result of a joint venture between BASF and five companies in the logistics sector.