Acknowledgements

We are most grateful for financial sponsorship received from the following organisations for the 5th edition of The Essential Chemical Industry, upon which this web site is based:

      Arkema

      The Salters' Institute

      The Royal Society of Chemistry

      The Chemical Industries Association

      The British Plastics Federation

We thank our colleagues, Allan Clements, Lizzie Hubbard and Valmai Firth, with whom we worked on the 5th edition of The Essential Chemical Industry for their support and help as we developed it to this web version.

Over 100 scientists from universities, research institutes and industry commented on various parts of the book and web version and others, named separately, also contributed specifically to this version.

We have been helped enormously by many companies, both experts in their media centres and others, who have helped us with over 220 photographs and diagrams.  Companies provided recent photographs to illustrate specific points raised in the text and individuals contributed to the accounts of the chemical industry and the uses of specific products.  All the photographs are acknowledged separately.  All of the illustrations, most of them new and produced for us by our indefatigable colleague, Mike Dunn, have been scrutinised by the industrial experts.

Without in any way diminishing the role played by the consultants, we wish to acknowledge here the contribution of two colleaques in the United States, the late Harold Wittcoff, the doyen of books related to the chemical industry, and of Henry Heikkinen, one of the finest scholars in chemical education, both for their encouragement founts of wisdom and good cheer.  One of us (DW) wishes to thank Rupert Waddington for editing his deathly prose in the first two major sections of the site.

And a special thanks goes to Kevin Swift (Chief Economist and Managing Director) of the American Chemical Council and many members of Cefic (The European Chemical Industry Council) who gave us much time and expertise with data and information from the United States and Europe, work we feel sure has made this version stronger.

This web site would not have seen light of day without the work of Marek Lichtarowicz who not only gave advice throughout the project but also taught us very patiently the intricacies and the many benefits of the system he chose.

We wish to thank Paul Jukes, formerly of Arkema, whose infectious enthusiasm for the 5th edition and the funding he helped to provide, laid the foundation for this web edition.

We have been helped by a myriad of experts but any errors are still ours.

John Lazonby
David Waddington

York 2020