Digitalisation of the vaccine development and production process at GSK
The pharmaceutical company GSK collaborates with Siemens and ATOS, two of the world’s leading expert companies in digital transformation and technology, to digitalise its vaccine development and production process. This innovative concept named digital twin, which combines the real and digital worlds in a closed loop. A key benefit will be much shorter development times for […]
Chemical and pharmaceutical companies provide medical staff with 200,000 face masks
During the first wave of the coronavirus, there was a very urgent demand for additional protective equipment, in particular face masks, for health professionals involved in the care of Covid-19 patients. That is why the essenscia sectoral federation launched an appeal to the 700 or so companies in the sector to make some of their […]
1 million litres of disinfectant gel thanks to successful cooperation between government and industry
With an additional production capacity of more than one million litres of hydroalcoholic gel, chemical, pharmaceutical and food companies, in close cooperation with the federal government, solved the impending shortage of hand disinfectant gel that existed at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Thanks to the rapid approval of temporary authorisations and the increase in […]
WeteWaWerkt: new series of videos places young STEM talent in the spotlight
WeteWaWerkt: in this series of videos from Technopolis and the ‘Vlaamse Ondernemers’ (Flemish entrepreneurs) of which essenscia is part, eight young business employees from various sectors demonstrate what their jobs entail and explain which routes they took to end up working in a STEM profession. The aim is to inspire third grade secondary school pupils, […]
Action plan in the Port of Antwerp to combat plastic pellets in nature
The aim of a comprehensive action plan, launched at the end of 2019 by the partner organisations of the Zero Pellet Loss initiative in the Port of Antwerp, is to prevent plastic pellets (called ‘nurdles’) from accidentally ending up in the environment. One year on and a great deal of action has been taken, from […]
Pack it better promotes ecodesign in packaging
The industry has made significant commitments to reduce the impact of packaging and increase recyclability. In response to these commitments, Comeos, Fevia and DETIC, together with Fost Plus and Valipac, have set up the platform www.packitbetter.be. Pack It Better promotes ecodesign in packaging by bringing companies and centres of expertise into contact with one another. […]
Educational first: chemical and pharmaceutical sector puts employees part-time in front of the classroom
Dual teaching is an innovative educational concept in which employees from chemical and pharmaceutical companies can teach temporarily and part-time in a secondary school. This brings practice closer to STEM education and at the same time tackles the shortage of specialist teachers. The pilot project was established in collaboration with the Flemish ministers of Education […]
Attracting talent through sector-specific job fairs
essenscia organises sector-specific Jobdays in Wallonia and We Are Chemistry in Flanders, which aim to attract more technical and scientific talents to the chemical, plastics and life sciences industry, and thereby help companies fill their vacancies. The “Chemistry, Plastics, Pharma & Biotech Jobdays” are organised by essenscia wallonie in collaboration with Forem and Actiris and supported by partners such as the business parks of Liège and […]
Bridgestone, ARLANXEO and Solvay launch stronger and more environmentally friendly types of tyres
Tyre manufacturer Bridgestone, rubber specialist ARLANXEO and chemical company Solvay have launched a new type of tyre with Techsyn with improved environmental performance. Techsyn combines chemically optimised synthetic rubber with customised silica. This ensures that the tyres wear out less quickly and last up to 30% longer, which reduces the consumption of raw materials in […]
UCB and Microsoft team up to accelerate drug development
Pharmaceutical company UCB is expanding its partnership with Microsoft to accelerate drug discovery and development, especially for severe diseases in immunology and neurology. To this end, UCB’s scientists and data specialists will be able to rely on artificial intelligence (AI), advanced computing technology and data platforms. They want to discover new correlations and patterns that […]