Is the traditional chemical industry facing a period of restructuring?
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Companies such as traditional chemical plants and design firms located in Wuxi have not seen any new employees in recent years; those who have been working there for a long time end up bearing the workload. This year, 5 people joined, but 4 left, with one of them being related to the boss. That person resigned from the design firm in May this year and worked at a hazardous waste management company for half a year, only to find that it was difficult to find professionals with the right skills there as well – most of the staff were from labor markets, and turnover was very high. I currently work at an electronic design firm; it has clean production facilities and is involved in projects related to medical electronics. I asked a colleague from the design firm before – they’re still busy. On the one hand, the work involved was all repetitive; they would ask for payment even before having all the information provided by the client. On the other hand, after spending 6 years there, I felt I hadn’t learned anything, and the company rarely organized any training opportunities for improvement. I study at Nanjing Tech University. I talked with my supervisor, and the projects being worked on these days are not related to traditional chemical engineering anymore; most graduates do not consider this industry as a career option instead opting to work in semiconductor factories or engage in research and development. Is this industry about to see a reshuffle? After going out for a walk, I realized that running a business is quite difficult as capital can penetrate everywhere. At the Electronic Pharmaceutical Design Institute, the level of process design is shallow and its impact isn’t significant; however, the work is easy, and the salary is more or less the same as at the traditional chemical engineering design institutes. Should I go back or stick with this field?
Design institutes generally offer good benefits, though it mainly depends on the workload. These days, a master’s degree is basically required to enter a design institute, and one also has to learn on the job there. The engineers on the owner’s side do not provide sufficient design depth. So, for recruitment from the open market, only those trained in design institutes can be hired. In other words, those from Party A could not enter the design institute originally, while those who came from the design institute could enter. So, the staff at the design institute has left. These days, it’s impossible to find any information online about the standard procedures for working in a design institute; the barriers to entering such institutions are extremely high.
It won’t reach the level of shuffling, right? That would require a complete revolution in the chemical industry. Carbon neutrality, energy conservation and emission reduction, and the reorientation of product and industry directions are merely changes in some of the factors influencing the development of the chemical industry; however, I believe these changes are not sufficient to bring about a complete reshuffle in this industry.
Every industry has its own innovative enterprises, and the production companies and engineering service firms in the chemical industry are no exception. Wanhua’s estimated (unaudited) profit for 2020 of 24–25.2 billion yuan is a very convincing example.
It keeps shuffling, with the best surviving and the worst being eliminated.
Yantai Wanhua is no longer involved in basic chemicals; it focuses on fine chemicals.
The traditional chemical industry is no longer in demand; first there was refining and the production of bulk chemicals, then fine chemicals, and now material production for the semiconductor industry. There is a shift from focusing on volume to emphasizing added value; traditional basic chemical industries are in severe shortage of talent.
Wanhua produces ethylene, styrene, caustic soda, PVC, MDI/TDI, and other products, with production capacities in the hundreds of thousands to even millions of tons; its business scope is far beyond that of fine chemicals alone.