The different branches of the chemical industry reach far and wide. Their products have a significant impact on people and their everyday life. Also, the branches play an important role in the well-being of our environment. At the same time the chemical industry has a strong foothold in our national economy. As a significant exporter and employer the chemical industry provides above all added value and partnerships to the other industries. For Finland the competencies of the chemical industry branches, combined with customer-oriented solutions and services, generate important centres of competence.

The operating environment of chemical industry companies is changing continuously. Cooperation networks are an important tool in locating shared solutions and competencies. The Chemical Industry Federation of Finland acts as an umbrella for the entire industry. In this capacity the Federation is the main operator, leading the way in issues related to labour market policies and business and industrial affairs. Branch federations and divisions are the cooperation expert forums for the various chemical industry companies.

This way the branch-specific questions faced by companies specialising in plastic products , rubber products, pharmaceuticals, paints, printing inks, cosmetics and detergents, crop protection products, bio industry products, adhesives, gas and industrial chemicals are given due attention. The biggest of the branch federations is the Finnish Plastics Industries Federation. The most recent to join the network was The Rubber Manufacturers' Association of Finland, which became a member in 2007.

The business idea of the Federation and its member and joint associations is to secure competitiveness and operating conditions of the member companies. The focal points of activities are defined in a shared, continuous process, and shared resources offer the companies immediate added value as services, which are very much in demand. The federations work in line with cost-efficient sharing of competencies and resources. In this operational model the expertise of both companies and federations complement one another.

On a national scale the activities receive support and guidance from members of boards, divisions and committees - in short, from hundreds of specialists based in different companies. Among the closest cooperation partners are the dozens of national and foreign industry organisations. Within this group the most important ones are the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK) the European Chemical Industry Council Cefic and European cooperation organizations comprising members from various industry branches