Page 7 - Port Of Hamburg Magazine 04.2019

Chemical Industry needs stable connections
In this article, our guest contributor Alexander War- stat, CEO of the ChemieNord employers’ associa- tion and spokesman for both that and VCI Nord – Chemical Industry Federation, explains the sector’s requirements.
Almost every value-added chain commences with chemical industry products. That makes chemicals an especially transport-intensive sector. The cur- rently available statistics show that a total of over 232 million tons of chemical products were trans- ported in Germany in 2017. The chemical industry was responsible for almost six percent of all freight. In addition, the industry is the second largest cus- tomer for transport services, since a high propor- tion of chemical production is sent on to further processors in industry.
The sector is therefore especially reliant on secure transport routes. Safe and fully functioning trans- port routes are of the utmost importance for a site, also fundamental for a company’s competitive- ness. The chemical industry needs to rely on all types of carriers, i.e. trucking, rail, inland shipping, seagoing transport and pipelines, to guarantee its supply of raw materials and to deliver its products to customers. Which mode of transport is right in each case depends not just on the volume to be shifted and the customer’s location, but also on the nature of the chemical(s).
OVER 450 COMPANIES IN
NORTHERN GERMANY
Over 450 chemical enterprises in the Northern Ger- man states of Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Low- er Saxony and Bremen belong to ChemieNord em- ployers’ association and/or the northern branch of the VCI – Verband der Chemischen Industrie. Their competitiveness also directly depends on having an infrastructure fit for the future. And that includes ports providing excellent connections worldwide. Given the length of its coast and the related access to world oceans, and as European transit territory for North-South and East-West axes, Northern Ger- many is of special importance for the German transport infrastructure. Major chemical industry sites such as Brunsbüttel, Stade and Wilhelmshav- en are directly adjacent to ports, using these for
INNOVATIVE INDUSTRY ■
Port of Hamburg Magazine | December 2019 | 07
Top earnings in chemicals: A full-time worker – 37.5 hours – under collective wage agreements earned an average of 62,000 euros in 2018
Financed entirely by the employer, company pension of over 600 euros per full- time worker under collective wage agreement
Strong commitment to in-service training for their employees: At 22.3 hours per worker per year, the chemical industry exceeds the manufacturing industry average by around
46 percent. The chemical company average spend of 1,538 euros per year exceeds the industry average of 1,023 euros
Top earnings for trainees: Over 1,000 euros in the first year of training, plus annual holiday pay of 700 euros