Dr. Kligman, the dermatologist and educator who led Retin-A to market, among other achievements, passed away on February 9, 2010, at the age of 93.  He was a signature example of the commitment and sense of inquiry and innovation that’s led to so many breakthroughs over the years in both the sciences, and their  practical application in the realm of personal care products.   His endowments to the University of Pennsylvania, and the influence he’s had on generations of students, will ensure the progress and good works he initiated will continue well into the future.

Our valued supplier AkzoNobel is investing heavily in innovation,  pointed up by this article about their significant outlay to enhance their research establishment at Felling, in the UK.  The benefits of this will undoubtedly be felt by customers, like ours, who depend on exactly this sort of heads-up investment to assure them of ingredients and formulations that will advance their own competitive edge.

We’re fortunate to have suppliers, such as AkzoNobel, that haven’t relented in their R&D spending during the recession because they recognize how critical it is to future success.  And their products will be foremost among those that prime the pump for a strong recovery.

Here’s a very good post from Business Week about why those in business who complain and feel victimized don’t invent — they find reasons not to succeed, so they don’t bother to try, and accept failure as inevitable consequence, not as an opportunity to learn and move forward.  So they don’t innovate.  Often, even the best of us place our faith (or cynicism) in larger forces, whether in the marketplace, in our business or in our life, and default to those forces; we don’t attempt change or invention because we think the deck is already stacked against us.  There’s no greater untruth!

Some years ago, a book called Luck Factor scientifically examined the psychology of “luck” and how it’s not a predetermined external factor (the “gambler’s fallacy” of belief in lucky streaks that helps casinos keep raking it in, in Vegas) but a function of attitude — people who saw life as offering opportunity would invariably have good things happen to them, because they’d see situations differently from those who saw the glass half-empty, and who would manufacture negative attitudes, hold back in potentially beneficial situations, and otherwise lose out on the “luck” circumstances offered them. 

So if you audit your attitude, believe in the time-tested values of elbow grease and imagination, then you’ve got every chance of succeeding.  Maybe even more, considering there are others who may get hung up on their own doubts!

This SpecialChem post spotlights one of the notable growth areas in personal care specialties, men’s grooming products, growing at a strong rate despite the struggles of other sectors, due to four basic factors:

…the ongoing rise of middle-class sectors in fast growing nations such as Brazil, Russia, India, and China; the Internet and similar technology providing enhanced access to new consumer bases outside wealthy industrialized regions; marketers’ increasingly sophisticated appeals to men, including creating or repositioning brands that flatter the male sense of national and/or ethnic identity; and the universal appeal of naturally or organically formulated toiletries that satisfy growing consumer consciousness regarding environmentalism and potential health problems originating from chemical-laden products.

 

The projected total market?

Within five years, the global market for all male-consumed grooming products is forecast to mushroom to $85 billion, compared to $28 billion for male-specific products.

What makes it an innovation story?  Simply the fact that this segment was a scarce fraction of itself just a decade ago. 

Thanks to the wherewithal and vision of manufacturers and marketers alike, it’s now an engine for growth worldwide, thanks to plentiful new products and inventive appeals that have revolutionized men’s attitudes toward personal grooming.

The conservatively upbeat outlook for this year is tempered by the obvious slowness in other areas of the economy that affect the chemical industry, though the personal care products category has been a bright spot.  The overall business declined by 6.2% in 2009, its second drop following a 4.7% fall in 2008.

We’d like to think that made the personal care sector stand out isn’t just the power of consumer demand — though we obviously can’t begin to discount that.  Some of the credit, according to industry pundits and analysts, goes to the the very qualities we rely upon for our own success here at Coast Southwest (but which are certainly not exclusive to us): a high degree of customer engagement, leading to partnered innovation resulting in strong product offerings in these burgeoning segments. 

These product categories are intensively competitive, and demand constant development of new formulations, new ideas and new approaches.  That takes imagination, communication and collaboration, on an intense level.  Just because a given category is accelerating is no guarantee of success; indeed, that situation presents its own challenges and potential for missteps.  And just because the analytics and predictions indicate an upswing, where 2010 will really succeed or fail is “on the ground” — through the continual effort and focus of the people making the breakthroughs and connections necessary to drive that success.

Simplistic?  Maybe.  But it’s interesting how, time and again, success or failure comes back to these evergreen basics.

Since nearly everybody in the chemical industry is touched by enironmental and sustainability issues and concerns, we’ve made a habit of checking in on ICIS’s Green Chemicals blog,  one site that provides consistently-updated reportage on these topics, aggregating news on government and industry activity and the “development of green within the chemical industry.”    There are many good links to stories about companies, consortiums and researchers who are making daily progress in paving the way for a greener, yet still very profitable future.

The second quotation is especially timely, since the consumer electronics and media industries are waiting with bated breath right now for Apple’s latest innovation, its rumored tablet computer.

Innovation is the specific instrument of entrepreneurship… the act that endows resources with a new capacity to create wealth.

Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.

Steve Jobs

I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.

Thomas Edison

We’re proud to be launching this new CSW INNOVATION BLOG, where we hope to put a focus on the innovation and inventiveness of the companies and individuals who have helped our industry grow and prosper over the decades, as well as on the trends that will affect us all tomorrow.  The creativity and integrity of these people – some our own here at Coast Southwest, many of them our suppliers, others our customers, and some even our competitors – deserves to be recognized.  And that’s true now more than ever before.

It’s no secret that, along with the rest of the U.S. economy, the chemicals industry experienced a “wild ride,” as one analyst put it, in 2009.  It’s our conviction that truly successful companies and outstanding individuals, when faced with the challenges and hurdles seen over this past year, find ways to maintain their headway even when the going gets tough. 

A huge component of that is that they typically redouble their quest for innovation – whether through improved ingredients, new formulations, or more efficient ways of producing, distributing or marketing the mainstays they’ve already got in hand.  That’s certainly been our approach over the years, to be a little self-serving: we’re proof that innovation can help a business flourish even in difficult times.

That kind of innovation is the key to continuous improvement, and to the health and growth of our category and businesses.  Innovation helps secure the welfare of employees, and the satisfaction and delight of consumers.  In short, innovation builds a future for every stakeholder in our industry, and it’s going on every day, in every corner of the chemicals business. 

So Coast Southwest will use this blog to shed a special light on innovation, not only where it impacts our customers and suppliers for surfactants, silicones and personal care specialties, but also wherever innovation is making a difference for the industry in general.