Giorgio Squinzi, Mapei Group CEO, will lead CEFIC for the next two years.

Giorgio Squinzi, Mapei Group CEO, was recently elected president of CEFIC, the European Chemical Industry Association. He takes the place of Christian Jourquin, CEO of Solvay. Squinzi has been CEO of MAPEI since 1976; the MAPEI Group comprises 63 affiliated companies with 57 manufacturing plants operating in 26 countries on five continents.

“I think the European chemical industry’s strategy will be most successful if based on three pillars that are the foundation of MAPEI: innovation, internationalization and specialization,” said Squinzi. “In Europe, manufacturers can better compete in a market that has rapidly become global when they have invested strongly in research and development projects that lead to innovative new products.”

Squinzi will lead CEFIC for the next two years, and he expects to face a period of difficulty within the European chemical industry as it seeks growth in the global chemicals market. “European production continues to grow, but more slowly than emerging competitors from Asia,” he said. “Europe needs to increase investment in chemical research in order to strengthen its competitiveness in this high-tech industry through the development of more advanced products that show greater innovation.”

For further details, visitwww.mapei.comorwww.cefic.be.