Page 8 - Port Of Hamburg Magazine 04.2019
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■ INNOVATIVE INDUSTRY
 About VCI Nord:
VCI Nord is a regional branch of the Chemical Industry Federation. It represents the economic policy interests of 280 member companies in Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and Bremen. Additional core tasks of the federation are further training for teaching staff, improvements of teaching of natural sciences, and the promotion of contacts between universities and business.
www.vci-nord.de
deliveries of raw materials and despatching their products.
Against this background, the chemical industry re- quires an integrated and all-embracing Northern German port scheme, optimally catering for ship- pers’ requirements and preserving and reinforcing the industry in the long term. This must be backed by corresponding further development of the road and rail network and inland water-ways.
STRUCTURAL CHANGE IN THE SECTOR
Official statistics indicate that the chemical industry achieved a turnover of over 7.4 billion euros in the first half of 2019. At least 2.7 billion was in Germany, and over 4.6 billion elsewhere. Compared to the previous year, however, sector turnover was around six per- cent lower; the current profound structural change in the chemical sector being to blame. In Northern Ger-
 The switch to cli- mate-neutral pro- duction processes being demanded nationwide, digital- ization, and the de- mands of an even more intensively cyclical economy, involve enormous Investments in new technologies and processes, irrespective of sector.
many over 20,000 workers in numerous supply companies are directly affected by the cri- sis in the automotive industry. Nor is it only automotive indus- try suppliers among the chem- ical companies in the North that are currently confronted by radical change in their busi- ness models. The switch to cli- mate-neutral production pro- cesses being demanded nationwide, digitalization, and the demands of an even more intensively cyclical economy, involve enormous Investments in new technologies and pro- cesses, irrespective of sector. In addition, a large number of companies see their opera- tions affected by deficiencies in the road network.
ADDITIONAL HUBS REQUIRED
The Northern German chemical industry bodies accordingly see it as essential that chronic un- der-financing be brought to a halt and infrastructural expan- sion more thoroughly integrat- ed, irrespective of carrier. If the
  About ChemieNord:
ChemieNord is the employers’ association for the chemical industry in Northern Germany. The association represents 300 member companies with 66,000 staff. Its main tasks are negotiations of wage/salary agreements and provision of legal advice for member companies. In addition, ChemieNord assists members on demographic and health management, in marketing of training, also representing its members’ joint interests vis-à-vis the media, the public, politicians, authorities, trade unions, trade associations and other bodies.
www.chemienord.de
08 | Port of Hamburg Magazine | December 2019
chemical industry is in future to be able to make great- er use of rail and inland waterway transport, more hubs will be essential. In addition, bottlenecks could be elim- inated by linking seaports better to the hinterland, cre- ating traffic lanes on motorways, and providing new freight traffic corridors or expanding these. We reject any higher user charges for the maintenance and ex- pansion of infrastructure. If priorities are at last set cor- rectly, sufficient public funds are available. ■
ALEXANDER WARSTAT, CEO and spokesman of the ChemieNord employers’ association.
© ChemieNord
















































































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