Specialty chemicals industry comprises companies that manufacture specialty chemical products such as explosives, photographic films, printing ink, coatings, sealants, perfumes, detergents, anti-oxidants, additives corrosion inhibitors and pharmaceutical products. The chemicals that are manufactured for agricultural purposes, basic chemicals, paints, resins and soaps are not part of the specialty chemicals. Companies in this industry, produce high value-added chemicals used in the manufacture of wide variety of products, including but not limited to fine chemicals, additives, advanced polymers, adhesives, sealants and specialty paints, pigments and coatings. Specialty chemicals industry has matured over the last decade and many industries have utilized specialty chemicals in manufacturing and finishing.

The specialty chemicals industry has matured in the last few decades, as many industries have utilized specialty chemicals in manufacturing of their respective industries' products, or for addition, enhancement and refinement, for example- some specific areas where these products are used include, agriculture, where specialty chemicals are required for manufacturing fertilizers and crop protection applications, electronics, where they are used or needed as agents to produce printed circuit boards and other components, housing, in which specialty chemicals are relied on for construction materials, sealants, coatings, paints and plastics, and lastly consumer goods, in which specialty chemicals are used to manufacture products such as perfumes, detergents, paper items and pharmaceuticals. The specialty chemicals sector not only has matured in terms of innovations using chemicals and chemistry, but utilization and incorporation of technology as well. As with the advancement in industrial technology, there came the need for specialty chemicals such as adhesives, additives, anti-oxidants and corrosion inhibitors.

2 . Specialty Chemicals Industry Current Trends

The global specialty chemicals market is projected to record incredible and strong growth in the near future, with certain segments faring particularly better than others due to the expansion mode in the industries companies. The segments that are gaining a good sustainable and profitable business scenario are specialty polymers, electronic chemicals and mining chemicals. In the last decade especially, the consumers and buyers are increasingly concerned and have environmental awareness among many protective measures to be undertaken by agencies, companies and eventually government regulations that will see industry players concentrate their efforts on producing more environmentally friendly products.

In 2010, the global specialty chemicals sector was valued at more than $706 billion, it was a good year in terms of revenue as there was an increase in expansion and revenue generation as compared to four years before, the rise of more than 3%, according to MarketLine. Therefore, the market growth is expected to accelerate to a yearly rate of more than 5% between 2010 and 2015, to generate an excellent revenue value of approximately $919 billion.

3 . Who are the Major Specialty Chemicals Manufacturers

Major players in the specialty chemical industry include BASF, AkzoNobel, Clariant, Evonik, Cognis, Kemira, Lanxess, Rhodia, Wacker, Croda, Huntsman, Ashland, Chemtura, Rockwood, Albemarle, Cabot, W. R. Grace, Ferro Corporation, Cytec Industries, and Lubrizol.