BAU 2009 Showcases The Diversity of Chemical Building Products

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At BAU 2009, the chemical building products industry will once again be showcasing the many, diverse and professional solutions it provides for the building industry. Set out on 16,000 square metres of space in Hall A5, and in a part of Hall A4, leading manufacturers will be presenting their extensive ranges – from insulating materials and plasters, to renders, paints, varnishes and adhesives etc – for facades and interior work on buildings. With the general picture in the chemical building products sector looking healthy, the emphasis with the German companies exhibiting at the fair is on international business in product systems, in particular for renovation and modernisation.

"Two years ago at the last fair, the trend towards European and international markets was already distinct, but today it is even more strongly felt, " explained Norbert Schröter, Principal Managing Director of Deutsche Bauchemie e.V. (German Association of Manufacturers of Chemical Building Products). The members that make up this industry association achieved in part significant growth last year in both sales and turnover. In Germany alone around € 5.4 billion of chemical building products were sold in 2007, in the other countries of the EU the figure was a total of € 6.2 billion. In other words: Germany is still by far the biggest market for chemical building products.

However international sales are making an increasing contribution to this growth in sales, particularly sales in the countries of eastern Europe.

Around 80 percent of the questions critical to the future of the chemical building products industry are discussed and decided in Brussels, at the EU Commission or at the CEN (Comité Européen de Normalisation). At BAU 2009 in Munich therefore European contacts and business relationships will be in the foreground. As well as this, the themes at the exhibitors´ stands will include REACH, the European regulation on chemicals that came into force in 2007, and the future chemical building products regulation – the medium-term effects of both these will of course will be very much felt in the product ranges of manufacturers for the construction markets in Europe.

In Germany the chemicals industry overall and the chemical building products industry are rated very highly as regarded their innovations capability, as related to the construction industry. This was revealed in a report by the Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung (ZEW), Mannheim, and the Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (NIW), Hanover. This industry is by far the most important supplier of new materials for industry and in this way supplies many other sectors with innovative ideas. Dr. Jörg Vogelsang, in charge of BASF´s stand at BAU 2009, comments: "The building sector is one of our most important end customers – and for us BAU 2009 is an opportunity to give our customers a complete overview of our expertise in concrete additives, industry and sports floors, paints and coatings and in thermal and acoustic insulation. We want to show architects, planners, building trades people, retailers and private individuals how to build energy-efficient, safe and comfortable houses using our products. We regard energy-efficiency in building and renovation work as an important contribution to protecting our climate. The specific requirements of our very different customers are the driver behind the development of our innovative raw materials, exclusive finished products and tailor-made system solutions."

No other materials-supplying sector spends as much on research and innovation as the chemicals industry. Already one in ten employees in the German chemical building products industry works in research and development. Norbert Schröter: "At BAU our sector will therefore once again be attracting attention for its high innovations potential, because R&D is still one of the most important activities in the companies. Everyone benefits from these efforts, primarily of course the customers."

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