Chemical production is often described, understated as it might be, as a "harsh" operating environment. Machinery, components and workers are subjected to extreme temperatures, pressures and substances as they generate end products that can be used in a multitude of ways.

According to the December 2013 national report of the Institute of Supply Management (ISM), the manufacturing industry is continuing to experience healthy growth.

Over the past five years we have experienced a dramatic change in the role that manufacturing has played as part of the fabric that ties together our global economies. No longer seen as simply "black boxes" in the supply network that simply consumed materials and produced products "” manufacturing has experienced a renaissance whereby investment has returned with an expectation of continued growth into the future. In today's demand-driven reality, the role of the factory has evolved to necessitate greater flexibility and an ability to adapt to real-time sales information, resulting in better customer satisfaction, efficiency and profits.

Cuba on Monday inaugurated a $957m port billed as the most modern in Latin America and crucial to the economic future of the communist-ruled island in a project financed by Brazil and equipped for ships passing through an expanded Panama Canal.