Virtual Suppliers Day 2024

Virtual Suppliers Day 2024

On December 15th, we hosted our first Virtual Suppliers Day with some of our key suppliers. During this event, we discussed the potentials and challenges of a more sustainable supply chain for chemical and API products. This is to ensure we conduct business responsibly and stay competitive by abiding with new regulations.

On this occasion, we also advertised the participation of our suppliers in independent sustainability ratings and the calculation of Product Carbon Footprints (PCF). This will enable us to reach our goal of getting a full picture of our Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and for defining emission reduction targets.

We will continue the dialogue with our valued suppliers and stakeholders on sustainability in 2025 and look forward to the next Suppliers Day.

Petrex is celebrating 25 years – Thank you for your trust

Petrex is celebrating 25 years – Thank you for your trust

1999 Petrex started with the idea to connect distant markets, and create a real benefit for everyone involved. Our philosophie remains the same to this day: do business properly, never sacrifice short-term gains for long-term uncertainties. Follow highest ethical standards and create long-lasting relationships. We follow these principles internally and externally, and the success story speaks for itself.

Without you, our clients and partners, all this would not have been possible. We thank you deeply for the continued trust and look forward to the next 25 years.

Your Petrex GmbH Team

Road to Product Carbon Footprints

Road to Product Carbon Footprints

We recently started a campaign for obtaining Product Carbon Footprints, or short PCF, for our portfolio. This will help our customers, our suppliers and us to assess the greenhouse gas emission impact of our business more transparently and enable us to work together on further reducing our impact.

Last week, we achieved the milestone of  obtaining the first PCF. Until 2025, we aim to add more PCFs for our key products. We look forward to this exciting journey!

Do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions on how we work to minimize our environmental impact here at Petrex.

Meet us at CPHI 2024 in Milan!

Meet us at CPHI 2024 in Milan!

CPHI Worldwide is the flagship trade show of the international pharmaceutical industry. Companies specialized in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, diagnostics and other industry related sectors use this yearly event to network and collaborate.

About

This year the exhibition takes place from Oct 8, 2024 – Oct 10, 2024 in Milan, Italy. 1.800 exhibitors and 45.000 professional visitors from 170 countries are expected to participate.

Meet us

Team Petrex will be there! We’re looking forward to meeting you. Please contact us for setting an appointment.

Sustainability: EcoVadis Platinum & TfS

Sustainability: EcoVadis Platinum & TfS

Growing together as a sustainable company

For years, Petrex has invested a great deal in becoming a greener and more sustainable company. Improving sustainability and awareness as a company along with our stakeholders is the highest priority for us. Recently, we received more recognition for our efforts in sustainability:

In August, we once again achieved the Platinum Medal status by the CSR rating provider EcoVadis. This recognizes us as one of the Top 1% companies participating in EcoVadis assessments and underlines our ambitions as a responsible business partner at the forefront of sustainability.

Petrex GmbH reached the EcoVadis platinum medal

We were also successfully audited by the Together for Sustainability (TfS) initiative in July 2024.

We thank all our stakeholders for challenging the status quo in sustainability. We will continue to strive for excellence and further improve the transparency along our supply chain.

FC Sankt Hubert: Girls’ Football Day 2024

FC Sankt Hubert: Girls’ Football Day 2024

Our local football club FC Sankt Hubert is hosting a Girls’ Football Day on Saturday 21th of September 2024. This is a fantastic opportunity for young girls to get involved in playing football. In cooperation with local schools, girls will have the opportunity to discover football as a sport in a playful manner.

Petrex is proud to sponsor this event as a partner of the club. We encourage you to stop by and check out the great work FC Sankt Hubert are doing. There will be matches to watch (11:30 and 14:30) and cheer for and information on how girls can get into football or even join the club.

The tournament takes place at the Sankt Hubert football field (Rasensportplatz) next to the primary school from 10:00-16:00h. The full address is Stendener Str. 4, 47906 Kempen.

We hope to see you there!

Bees for a better future!

Bees for a better future!

Introducing: Petrex’s smallest employees…

Summer is here and Petrex is celebrating bio-diversity! We are thrilled to announce that Petrex has taken another step for more environmental stewardship by adopting a honey bee colony starting from this month. This initiative is part of our ongoing commitment to support biodiversity and contribute positively to our ecosystem.

Why Honey Bees?

Honey bees play a crucial role in pollinating plants, which increases their yield and is essential for the production of fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Did you know that bee pollination not only promotes a more diverse ecosystem, but is even estimated to boosts the German economy by an estimated 1.6 Billion Euros?

Our company bees are managed by professional beekeepers at our partner Honiglandschaften. They ensure the bees are healthy and well-cared for and also follow ecological Bioland guidelines.

Looking Ahead

If you want to know more or too want to support bees in Germany as a company, please contact us or check out the bee adoption program and our partner Honiglandschaften directly: https://www.honiglandschaften.de/ Stay tuned for more updates on our bee colony and other sustainability projects. There might even be Petrex company honey soon…

Why are sea freight rates rising in 2024?

Why are sea freight rates rising in 2024?

Looking at the past years, a reasonable sea freight rate for a full container (FCL) from Asia to Europe has been somewhere between 1.500 – 2.000 USD. During the pandemic, rates were increasing to peaks of 8.000 – 10.000 USD. Closed ports and absense workers due to quarantene resulted in interruptions in the shipping schedules and less shipping space available = higher shipping cost.

After the pandemic the supply chain recovered and towards the end of 2023 ocean freight rates went down below the 2.000 USD mark again.

 

Supply Chain interruptions and low stock levels

However, in January 2024 the cost for one full container all of a sudden went up to 3.300 USD. This was mostly caused by the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. Shipping companies started to avoid the Suez Canal and vessels were redirected around Africa. The first attacks happened at a time where many European companies had a low stock level. As inventory planners experienced huge interruptions in the supply chain during the pandemic, they then decided to ship more goods to avoid getting out of stock.

This sudden extra demand for shipping space is negotiated on the spot market, which puts high pressure on freight rates.

 

More flexibility means more price fluctuation

In general, companies nowadays want to be more flexible in their purchasing decisions. Only a few fix their demand for 6 months or even a year, which has been general practice 5-10 years ago. This desire for more flexibility leads to more fluctuating market prices as shipping companies cannot plan and compete against each other in advance.

 

Source for the freight rates: Average monthly cost for 20’ FCL general cargo Shanghai – Rotterdam invoiced to Petrex by various shipping lines

Young Masters soccer tournament 2024

Young Masters soccer tournament 2024

Again in 2024, the Young Masters soccer tournament will take place organized by the football club FC St. Hubert. As the region’s largest event for children’s football, we are happy to support the event and the concept “1:0 for children”.

History

For several years, more than 1,800 primary school students and more than 2,000 visitors have participated in the multiple-day football tournament annually. Sorted by the age groups, the pupils can experience team sports playfully. At the same time, donations are collected for UNICEF.

PETREX JUNIOR CUP

On Saturday, June 29, the Junior Cup for the third school year will take place. We sponsored this day. About 30 teams compete against each other in different rounds. Visitors are welcome from 8.45 AM – 4 PM. We will award the trophy. More information can be found here (German).

Petrex attends ChemSpec Düsseldorf and CPhI Shanghai – meet us on the fair!

Petrex attends ChemSpec Düsseldorf and CPhI Shanghai – meet us on the fair!

Petrex GmbH offers a wide range of high-quality chemicals and APIs. We regularly attend exhibitions to connect with business partners. This month we attend the ChemSpec in Düsseldorf as well as the CPhI in Shanghai.

About

Chemspec Europe is a key event for the fine and speciality chemicals industry. This year it takes place in Düsseldorf on 19-20 June. With a highly specialised profile, the exhibition is the place to be for purchasers and agents to meet with manufacturers, suppliers and distributors of fine and speciality chemicals.

CPHI China is Asia’s premier pharma event, bringing together suppliers and buyers from the entire pharmaceutical supply chain. Global pharma experts gather in Shanghai to network, source cost-effective solutions and conduct vital face-to-face business. The event takes place at Shanghai New International Expo Center on 19-21 June.

Meet us

We’re looking forward to meeting you. Please contact us for setting an appointment.