SOCMA, the trade association of the US speciality chemical manufacturing industry, has published an open letter to the pending Trump administration, urging it to “prioritise policies that encourage advancement, streamline regulatory processes and incentivise domestic manufacturing”. In particular, it asked the administration to

* Streamline the EPA’s New Chemicals Review Process to unlock new chemistries

* Open tariff exclusion processes for inputs and raw materials not available in the US

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalised a ban on most uses of methylene chloride (MCL) via a ‘final action’ under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Consumer use will be phased out within a year, and most industrial and commercial uses within two.

MFG Chemical, a speciality and custom chemical manufacturer, has won four awards for plant safety and performance improvement at two of its three sites in Dalton, Georgia, from SOCMA.

The Kimberly Park plant won the Silver Award for EHS&S Planning & Operations, having completed a major improvement project to facility process equipment, piping and equipment safety systems which it said substantially improved process controls and automation; redundancy in process cooling water; and, the mitigation of risk from runaway reaction, among other things.

SOCMA has outlined how it will work with, and the changes it anticipates from, a new administration in the US

With the long drawn-out saga of the 2020 US election finally over and a new administration in place, SOCMA has begun a series of webinars to educate members about what to expect from the Biden administration and its own priorities in engaging with them. The first took place on 25 February.

Mack-Brooks Exhibitions has announced the postponement of the fine and speciality chemicals trade show, Chemspec Europe 2021 in view of continued uncertainties regarding travel restrictions and event planning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year’s show was twice postponed and finally replaced with a digital event.

Chemspec Europe 2021, the 35th in the series, was originally scheduled for 19-20 May at Messe Frankfurt. It will now be a hybrid physical-digital event on 29-30 September, merging the “on-site offer with interactive digital networking opportunities”.

SOCMA has announced a change of date for the first Specialty & Custom Chemicals Show under its ownership. The event, which the association bought in August, has been moved from February to 14-16 April 2021, still at the Omni in Fort Worth, Texas.

“Despite the recent resurgence of coronavirus cases, news of these vaccines has health experts targeting Q2 of 2021 as a beginning for a return to normalcy,” said SOCMA president and CEO, Jennifer Abril. Among the safety protocols that will be in place throughout will be:

* Daily health checks

* Mandatory masks

SOCMA has acquired the Specialty & Custom Chemicals show. We spoke to CEO Jennifer Abril to find out why

The US trade association SOCMA has purchased the Specialty & Custom Chemicals America show and made an industry event a key part of its offer for the first time in 15 years. There was a time, of course, when an industry event was basically what SOCMA did.