WSA 2025 – Workshop: Commercial Impact of Soda Ash Technologies

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Session Details

WSA 2025 – Workshop: Commercial Impact of Soda Ash Technologies

Tuesday, October 7
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The full-day workshop includes a review of technologies, product quality, and sources of competitive advantage and a discussion of global and regional trends impacting trade and profitability.

Topics to be covered:

  • Technical Overview of the Solvay, Hou and Natural Process Economics
  • Structural Overview of the Chinese and Global Industries
  • Impacts of Chinese Fertilizers Market on Hou Process Economics
  • Relative Competitiveness
  • Global Trade / Logistics
  • Raw Materials Overview
  • Role of Government in the Soda Ash industry

 

Commercial Impact of Soda Ash Technologies


Pickup your name badge and meet your fellow attendees as WSA 2025 opens!
 

The morning will include discussions on the global soda ash industry including demand segments, builders and end uses. In addition, a thorough review of soda ash technologies will be discussed. 
Connect and engage with fellow attendees; sessions will resume at 1030.
Continued discussion on soda ash processes and exploration of the key raw materials in synthetic soda ash production and what has been happening recently with their prices.

Sessions resume at 1330.
The afternoon will begin with a review of the structure of the soda ash industry in mainland China followed by discussion of Competitiveness in the market.
Connect and engage with fellow attendees; sessions resume at 1530.
This session will discuss scale impact on cost including environmental and energy impacts and then conclude with discussion on logistics and global trade.

Network with fellow attendees, speakers and sponsors, as we countdown to a full day of dynamic content and insight

Session Speakers

Rock Bian Associate Director, China Soda Ash Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Rock Bian is the Associate Director of the China Soda Ash Research and Analysis at Chemical Market Analytics. With over 20 years of experience, Rock is an essential resource within the business for understanding and insights into the soda ash sector of the inorganic chemical industry. Rock works closely with the soda ash industry in China, providing support and guidance throughout the product chain. His focus includes oversight of the mainland Chinese section of soda ash reports and primary input and insight for the world soda ash analyses. Rock has over 20 years of experience in chemical industries. He started his career as an engineer and project manager for a leading chemical engineering design institute in China. He supported and handled various engineering, design and construction projects in China and Tanzania. Rock also has extensive experience in soda ash and hydrogen peroxide with Solvay and FMC (now Genesis) and successfully led the development of a greenfield hydrogen peroxide plant. Before joining Chemical Market Analytics, Rock had a role in strategic planning and business development for Sinochem International, where he led market research for new business opportunities and planned the subsequent relevant venture developments. Rock holds a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering degree from Zhengzhou Engineering College and a Master of Business Administration from Nanjing University.

Harry Chapman Senior Analyst Chemical Market Analytics

Harry Chapman is the Senior Analyst on the Soda Ash team as part of the Inorganics team. Since joining the company in 2024, he has provided continuous support for soda ash research and analytics.

Harry focuses on market research, regularly contributing updates and analysis of market changes for all regions of the world along the soda ash chain. His contributions extend to authoring sections of the Global Soda Ash Monthly report and supplement and ensuring clients receive up-to-date and in-depth insight into the industry. 

Prior to joining Chemical Market Analytics, Harry gained more than a year and half of valuable industrial experience post-graduation. During this time, he worked for Wychem, a division of Ascensus Specialties, where he played a pivotal role in the production of fine chemicals for pharmaceutical, electronics and specialized applications.

Mr. Chapman holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of East Anglia. He is currently based out of the London office.

Hasan Copur Associate Director, Global Soda Ash Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Hasan is the Associate Director of the Soda Ash team at Chemical Market Analytics. Hasan is an associate director within the inorganics team and has expertise in the global Soda Ash Market Advisory Service. Over 15 years in commercial roles, Hasan has acquired international chemical industry experience while holding various sales and business management roles. He engaged in diverse sectors using inorganic chemicals as raw materials and helped develop a portfolio of global clients. During his time with the company, he has provided soda ash market coverage for each region of the world, offering insight and intelligence across the soda ash value chain, emphasizing Europe and the Indian subcontinent. Hasan spent over ten years with Sisecam, a global glass and soda ash manufacturer, managing international sales activities for their chemicals group in its multiple locations. He spent four years in China, leading the regional business. Before joining in 2021, he spent three years working in trading in the UK, overseeing a range of basic chemicals and metals in the international markets. Hasan holds a Bachelor’s in Economics from Istanbul University and an MBA from Yeditepe University. He joined the company in 2021 and resides in London, UK.

Nick Kovics Vice President, Global Inorganic Chemicals Team Lead Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Nick Kovics is the Vice President of the Global Inorganics team at Chemical Market Analytics. Nick Kovics serves as the Vice President of Global Inorganic Chemicals at Chemical Market Analytics, which includes Chlor-alkali chemicals, Vinyls, Bleaching Chemicals, and Soda Ash. Nick brings over 25 years of chemical industry experience to the Chemical Market Analytics Inorganic Chemicals insights team. He was promoted to his current role in 2024, where he leads twenty analysts who research, forecast, and report on chlor-alkali chemicals, vinyls, bleaching chemicals, and soda ash from five global locations. Previously, Nick held a variety of roles in the Inorganics value chain at Chemical Market Analytics, including leading the Chlor-alkali, Bleaching Chemicals, and Battery Materials advisory services. Nick held various functional roles in several companies before joining Chemical Market Analytics. He began his career as a process engineer in the chlor-alkali sector at Canadian Occidental. Nick next moved into the energy sector as a field engineer with Schlumberger Canada cementing and hydraulic fracturing services. He transitioned from oil and gas to new energy and spent a decade in the hydrogen fuel cell sector in technical, commercial and financial roles. Nick continued in the electrochemical industry by joining Canexus (now Chemtrade) and held commercial leadership roles in chlor-alkali and sodium chlorate marketing. Nick is originally from Canada and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of British Columbia and an MBA from Simon Fraser University. He is a registered Canadian Professional Engineer and a Canadian Chartered Professional Accountant. He has resided in Houston, TX, since joining Chemical Market Analytics in 2017.

Marguerite Morrin Executive Director, Global Soda Ash Service Lead Chemical Market Analytics

Marguerite Morrin is the Executive Director of Global Soda Ash Service Lead at Chemical Market Analytics. Marguerite Morrin is the Executive Director of Soda Ash research at Chemical Market Analytics (CMA). Marguerite launched the Global Soda Ash Market Advisory Service (MAS) in 2008. Before launching the soda ash MAS, she held various responsibilities in the Inorganics value chain, including European chlor-alkali and vinyls market coverage, where she helped develop MAS. Marguerite’s area of focus is the Soda Ash Market Advisory Service. With over 30 years of research experience in the chemicals sector, Marguerite is a key CMA resource with respect to analysis and insights about soda ash markets. She works with the global soda ash team to understand and keep track of soda ash market developments and provide CMA clients with insight and critical analytics that facilitate decisions. Marguerite also organizes the CMA annual World Soda Ash Conference. Marguerite holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from University College Dublin, Ireland and a postgraduate diploma in Business Studies from UCD Smurfit Business School, Dublin. She is currently based out of the London office.  

Raheel Shafi Vice President, Europe, Middle East and APAC Consulting Team Lead Chemical Market Analytics

Raheel serves as the Vice President for Global Consulting at Chemical Market Analytics. Raheel has over 25 years of experience working in the downstream and petrochemicals sectors. During this time, he has held numerous technical and commercial positions in operating companies and, more recently, within consulting, where he has spent the last 11 years. His background spans refining and petrochemical process technologies, product markets, and operations, enabling him to provide astute and valued advisory services across the refinery petrochemical interface and beyond crude to chemicals. He has provided advisory services over the entire petrochemical asset lifecycle from concept and feasibility study of grassroots complexes at major national master plan level as well as for NOCs and consortia. Similarly, he has completed numerous brownfield technical and commercial advisory projects looking at new value chains, increased business agility and increasing overall plant capacity for a wide variety of clients. He has also supported both greenfield and brownfield projects through the project finance stage, providing services to lenders and ECAs. From an organic growth perspective, he has developed strategies around future business direction supporting divestments relating to the sale of assets and growth through sell-side due diligence from both a technical and commercial advisory perspective. Specifically, Raheel has supported more than 75 billion dollars in transactions in the petrochemical space.  

Sanjay Shah Executive Director, Consulting Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Sanjay Shah is an Executive Director of the consulting team at Chemical Market Analytics (by OPIS, a Dow Jones Company). Sanjay is responsible for leading project execution, guiding market and commercial analytics assignments, and building and developing consulting teams. He has around 25 years of experience in bespoke consulting in chemical, petrochemical, refining and energy sectors gained through a range of functional and management roles with Worley Consulting and Mott MacDonald. With a strong record of delivering business and project performance and developing consulting teams, Sanjay’s consulting experience is primarily focused on the chemical and petrochemical sectors with an emphasis on market/pricing analysis, commercial, strategy, M&A due diligence and financial analysis carried out through single client studies for corporates, governments, investors, financial institutions and multi-lateral agencies in the Middle East, Europe, and Asia. Sanjay’s experience in the market, pricing and commercial analysis include developing integrated market supply-demand and pricing models and comprehensive financial and economic scenario models covering a wide range of commodity chemicals, petrochemicals (including steam cracker, PDH, MTO/MTP plants), refineries, GTL plants and gas distribution projects. Before consulting, Sanjay gained a strong industrial and technical background through his experience in R&D, production, and marketing in a large chemical manufacturing unit. He holds a postgraduate degree in organic chemistry and business administration and is a certified management consultant. Sanjay is based in London, United Kingdom.
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