New year greetings

Dear reader,

Luckily I can write this message while healthy and safely working from home. I hope you are also safe and healthy as you read this.

In general terms, we look back on a special and an exceptional year.  12 Months in which we have been confronted with sudden changes and challenges that we have not experienced before. We deplore the lives the COVID-19 virus has cost and admire the commitment and perseverance of care workers. 2020 has also brought us a lot of good. ‘Prioritizing' is perhaps the second most important word of 2020, after 'health'. Prioritizing in a private context. Care for the children, care for each other and care for someone else. Prioritizing in a business context also became important. Is a fixed workplace still important? Who should and who is allowed to go to the office? How do we take care of each other as colleagues? How do we look after those who are more affected by this situation?

As an international operating company with family roots, it is in our blood to keep looking big or small steps ahead. What change or addition is needed to continue to guarantee the success of our employees, partners and clients? What is needed to keep giving our partners and customers a head start? What does this mean for the team of people and our services on a daily basis?

2020 has seen a 10-25% drop across the industry. This is due to the closure of manufacturing companies due to corona measures in the first half of the year, and happened in several industries. In the second half of the year, the industry showed incredible resilience. Creative solutions in both working methods and service in the market paid off. The process and our services were able to continue. The general expectation is that for commodity chemicals demand will continue in 2021 with a growth of 3 to 4% and for specialty chemicals of 4 to 5%.  In addition to its growth in well-known markets and existing products, it is expected the share of BioBased products to remain growing strongly.

As a technical distribution company, we focus on servicing and marketing our portfolio of raw materials in North-West Europe. We aim to roll out our exclusive partnerships with our long-term strategic suppliers  across the entire geography, being UK, Ireland, DACH, Benelux and Scandinavia. This will include our growing portfolio of biobased raw materials, supporting our growing customer base with the right products and to enable customers to successfully meet new market trends and more stringent legislation.

At De Monchy we are convinced that we want and can create a better future for others. In 2021 we expect to show you more practical examples of our energy, passion and decisiveness. The development of society, your success and your growth are our priorities. We will continue to improve our current work and focus on innovation and creativity. Caring for each other must not be lacking.

On behalf of the entire De Monchy family, I wish you a beautiful, happy and above all healthy 2021!

Warm regards,

Gerko Snel
Managing Director
De Monchy International BV