European Chemical Industry Council
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The European Chemical Industry Council or Cefic (from its former French name Conseil Européen des Fédérations de l'Industrie Chimique) is the main European trade association for the chemical industry. It was founded in 1959, and its history follows through the creation of the European Union. Its headquarters are located in Brussels. Cefic represents 29,000 large, medium and small chemical companies in Europe, interacting on behalf of their members with international and EU institutions, non-governmental organisations, the international media, and other stakeholders. Chemicals companies in the European Union employ a total staff of about 1.2 million.
History
The association was founded in 1959 under the name "Secrétariat International des Groupements Professionnels des Industries Chimiques des Pays de la CEE (S.I.I.C)". Two years later, the Conseil Européen des Fédérations de l'Industrie Chimique (Cefic) was created. In parallel, the chemical industry associations of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries also started to organise. The two organisations merged in 1972 under the Cefic name to better represent the interests of the chemical industry at international level.
In 1990, the association changed its name to European Chemical Industry Council to reflect the integration of the chemical companies. The Cefic acronym was nevertheless retained.
Elected on October 17 2014, Solvay CEO Jean-Pierre Clamadieu is the current President of Cefic. Mr Clamadieu took over the leadership from BASF Chairman Kurt Bock, who completed his two-year term.
About Cefic
Cefic represent the entire range of chemicals production.
Cefic comprises: - six horizontal programmes - four industry sectors - one service unit (finance and administration) - one International Chemicals Management unit.