Mediterraneancluster

This morning, the Shed 1 “Moll de la Costa”, in Port de Tarragona, has been the frame of the inauguration of TankBank 2015, one of the major international events in the petrochemical field and it has chosen Tarragona in order to hold its first meeting in the Mediterranean. Tony Quinn, CEO of TankBank International; Josep Andreu, president of the Port de Tarragona and Francesc Sánchez, general manager of the Port de Tarragona were in charge of welcoming the hundred attendees which are representatives of major companies in the storage industry, management of chemical and petrochemical terminals, European Ports and manufacturers of storage tanks.

In his speech, the president of the Port de Tarragona, and vice president of ChemMed, defended the strategic role that plays this territory on the international map and the possibilities it offers as an investment destination. Before him, the CEO of TankBank, Tony Quinn, has given the starting point for the conference and he wanted to stress the great potential of Tarragona, not only for its strategic location, also for the ability that the territory has in economic and development growth next to the powerful chemical industry and the Port de Tarragona. Moreover, among others, the director of Tepsa Spain, LLuis Sala and the Director of Operations of Repsol refinery in Tarragona, Baltasar, Boix have spoken this morning.

Before ending the morning conference the participants have made a sea tour by port facilities.

The Chemical Cluster of the Mediterranean has put full stop to the first day of TankBank in Tarragona in the Hipòlit sarcophagus room in Tower of Pretorio, which has hosted the presentation of this project that brings together the Chemical Industry, the Port de Tarragona and all the agents surrounding the sector in this territory. Its president, Jesus Loma-Ossorio, presented to the attendees the project in company of the vice president of ChemMed Tarragona, Josep Andreu.

President of AEQT and ChemMed explained that the cluster born just to anticipate the future, placing a value on the potential of Tarragona and to project this brand to the world in search of investments to consolidate the future of this industry in the territory. Loma took the opportunity to travel back in time to explain what role the petrochemical sector has played in the last half century in Tarragona and how now it makes a step forward into the specialties world.

This afternoon session was also attended by the Mayor of Tarragona, who wanted to receive the TankBank attendees in the same “Tower del Pretorio”. In his speech the mayor stressed the importance of the territory as an economic engine, pointing the chemical industry, the Port de Tarragona and other sectors such as knowledge and tourism. Josep Felix Ballesteros has placed the audience in the historic site where they were, recalling that Tarragona is a place not only of past and present also with future.

Within the framework of the International Logistics Exhibition (SIL), ChemMed Tarragona has organized this morning the 4th SIL CHEMICAL Conference, which has carried the title: “ChemMed Tarragona, common infrastructures and competitive services.”

After more than a year of international renown, the most important chemical cluster in Southern Europe, promoted by the Chemical Business Association of Tarragona (AEQT) and the Port de Tarragona, has returned to the SIL to expose his maturity as a cluster, and to value  that ChemMed Tarragona is the brand under which the synergies between Port and chemical industry have gathered for more than 40 years.

In this fourth edition of the SIL CHEMICAL have took part as speakers Jesus Loma-Ossorio, president of ChemMed Tarragona and AEQT; Josep Andreu, vice president of ChemMed Tarragona and president of Port de Tarragona; Marc Fargas, CEO of AITASA; Teresa Pallares, general manager of ChemMed Tarragona and AEQT; and Francesc Sánchez, ChemMed board member and CEO of the Port de Tarragona.

In his speech, the president of ChemMed Tarragona reviewed a year of international repercussion of the cluster, and has wanted to highlight the competitive advantages of the cluster and also that it makes the territory an interesting location for investment. Loma-Ossorio has emphasized the potential of the chemical industry of Tarragona, the great depth and specialization of port infrastructure, the specialization of services of the territory, the human capital and the 350 available hectares that the chemical industry and the port offer for new investments.

However, Loma-Ossorio has made a review of recent investments in Tarragona Chemical companies such as Dow Tarragona, Clariant, Kemira, Repsol and BASF.

In turn, the vice president of ChemMed Tarragona has stressed the importance of the presence of ChemMed in the SIL, one of the main logistics showcase in Southern Europe. And he has wanted to show that the Port de Tarragona is a partner that adds value to the chemical industry through competitive infrastructures, and he has given as example the  Logistics Activities Area of the Port of Tarragona. Andreu also took the stage of the event to name the three leading exponents of the needs of the chemical industry and the territory, the complaints of connection with the European width, the A27 and a better power management.

Marc Fargas, CEO of AITASA, explained to the audience about the competitiveness of shared services among different companies that make it up the AEQT and the Port de Tarragona, such as Rack Dixquímics (connecting companies with each other and with the Port) the “Emisario Submarino” (by connecting all companies at the same outfall and allowing greater management of spills) and the regenerating water station.

The presentation of Teresa Pallares has entitled “Efficiency of general services: Prevention Project on marine contingencies, fire station and health services”. The general manager of ChemMed Tarragona has valued the three chemical safety parks located in the northern polygon, polygon south and inside the port land, and the three parks give service to any of the companies that are around it.

Finally, Francesc Sánchez has made a radiograph of the chemical industry sector in the international area, and stressed the importance of ports as logistic platforms; and as now they should manage their efforts to become big  intermodal infrastructure in order to being export hubs to other countries.

In this sense, he highlighted the port infrastructures as for example the recently finalized extension of “muelle de la quimica” that puts on the market available hectares , while it gives competitiveness to companies that are already installed on the port providing a higher draught. He also wanted to emphasize the intermodal terminal in the Port de Tarragona, offering competitive customer service and it is an open intermodal services companies in the territory. And finally he emphasized the development of the area of logistics activities, which will operate in the near future.

ChemMed Tarragona sponsors the SIL CHEMICAL 2015, in collaboration with the promoters of the cluster : Port de Tarragona and the Chemical Business Association of Tarragona (AEQT). The conference will take place on Thursday 11th June at 9.30 am in the Pabilex room, in the context of the International Logistics , and entitled as “ChemMed Tarragona, common infrastructure and competitive services”. In this way, after more than one year of international diffusion, the chemical cluster in the Mediterranean returns to SIL to expose his maturity as a cluster and to value the strengths and assets on the global map of the chemical industry and logistics.

ChemMed Tarragona is a brand for the promotion at international level with some very clear lines which show that Tarragona has all the elements necessary  to develop the future challenges of the sector.

The SIL CHEMICAL 2015 is the fourth edition which this year includes as speakers Jesus Loma-Ossorio, president of ChemMed Tarragona and AEQT; Josep Andreu i Figueras, president of the Port de Tarragona and vice president of ChemMed Tarragona; Marc Fargas, CEO of AITASA; Teresa Pallares, general manager of AEQT and ChemMed Tarragona and Francesc Sánchez, CEO of the Port of Tarragona and board member of ChemMed Tarragona.

ChemMed Tarragona is the most important chemical cluster in the Mediterranean. The sum of the chemical industry, the port and all the agents that surround it have  provided a reality that has 50 years of experience and highlighting, among others, major infrastructure associated, as the pipe rack Dixquímics, plant regenerated water, the Chemical Safety Parks, common emissary, the moll de la química or common service for the operation of marine pollution contingency, are some of the examples that have given meaning to the premise that there is strength in numbers .

To register on the day SIL CHEMICAL 2015: http://www.silbcn.com/cat/actos_jornadas/jornada_chemical.php

The President of the Chemical Cluster in the Mediterranean, Jesús Loma-Ossorio, has presented this afternoon the project ChemMed Tarragona in the bosom of the ‘6th meeting of the Chemical Sector’, annually organized by FEIQUE and IESE Business School.

The also chairman of the Chemical Business Association of Tarragona (AEQT)  explained that ChemMed brings together industry, port and all the agents who surround him in a project of present and future. The Chemical Cluster, explained Loma, was born the last year as a response to the threats that market could see in the short, medium and long term. It was about, therefore, to put the focus point on an industry that bet for high value-added products. The President of ChemMed Tarragona explained that this cluster puts at the service of the investment the know-how and synergies created during the half-century that the history of chemical industry has  in the territory. Loma-Ossorio has referred to the economic benefits that  can assume a newcomer company, as it can concentrate all their economic efforts in the nucleus, in the business, taking advantage of all the infrastructure that is already built and, thus, saving, and in some cases, up to 50% of what  could mean be installed in a greenfield.

The explanation of Loma-Ossorio has been framed within the round table on the ‘promotion of industrial investment’, which has analyzed the processes of decision in enterprises, their ability to finance themselves and the own role of the clusters in obtaining new investments. This has been moderated by the Professor of IESE and academic director of this forum, Joan Roure.

The table has counted on exceptional speakers, as the CEO of BASF in the South of Europe, Erwin Rauhe, who has spoken about the decision proces in multinational companies; The Managing Director of the financial group Riva y García, Ignacio García-Nieto, which has conferred on obtaining funding;the Group Juste, Ines Juste ,President and CEO of Panreac and President of Fedequim, Joan Roget, who have offered their views about decision-making in SMEs.