US Shift to Specialty Chemicals Sales

The US Market Shift to a European Specialty Sales Model: Why Technical Sales Recruitment Needs a Specialised Partner

A Structural Shift in the US Market

The US market is undergoing a fundamental transformation across multiple industrial sectors. Driven by tariffs, rising costs of base raw materials, competition from APAC, and increased supply chain complexity, companies are increasingly shifting away from traditional commodity-led models toward specialty products across the value chain.

This shift is particularly evident across these specialty chemicals – lubricants, coatings, adhesives, plastics and other formulated and performance-driven materials – where value is created through technical differentiation rather than volume alone. According to industry data, the global specialty chemicals market exceeded USD 800 billion in 2024 and is forecast to surpass USD 1 trillion by the end of the decade, significantly outpacing growth in commodity chemicals. This reflects a clear structural preference for higher-value, application-specific products.

While commodities still play a role in the manufacturing process, their properties and applications are largely well known and fully developed. By contrast, specialty products are driven by innovation. Advances in AI, data-driven formulation, and modern chemical processing have unlocked an almost infinite range of new molecules, formulations, and applications – designed to deliver improved performance, convenience, sustainability, and lower environmental impact.

These specialties are increasingly combined with base materials, additives, and tailored formulations to create highly engineered finished products for niche, high-value applications. However, this innovation-led complexity introduces additional layers of regulatory oversight, making regulatory knowledge and compliance a critical and rapidly growing capability within the specialty materials space. As a result, many US businesses are moving closer to a European commercial model, long established in highly regulated, innovation-driven specialty markets.

From Commodity Sales to Specialty Solutions

Historically, many US organisations – particularly those aligned to Oil & Gas, Energy, Construction and Automotive – have been built around:

• High-volume sales strategies
• Price-driven competition
• Broad customer coverage
• Limited technical depth in sales roles

Today, that model is being disrupted. Across both specialty raw materials and finished products, companies are leaning toward formulated materials, performance additives, and engineered systems used in more demanding and niche applications.

Markets such as coatings, adhesives, lubricants, plastics, and specialty polymers are now primary growth drivers, serving end uses in oil & gas, energy, automotive, construction, electronics, industrial manufacturing, and consumer goods. Industry analysis shows that over half of specialty chemical demand now comes from advanced materials, coatings, and electronics-related applications, underscoring the growing need for technical differentiation.

By contrast, the European specialty model – long established in areas such as resins, lubricant additives, adhesive systems, and engineered plastics – prioritises:

• Lower-volume, higher-margin products
• Application-specific and formulation-led selling
• Long sales cycles and consultative partnerships
• Sales professionals with strong technical foundations

As tariffs and raw material costs compress margins on commodities, US companies are being forced to compete on performance, compliance, sustainability, and application expertise rather than price alone. This transition fundamentally changes the profile of the sales talent required to succeed.

Why Technical Sales Talent Is Hard to Find in the US

One of the biggest challenges US companies now face is that technical sales profiles aligned to specialty chemicals and materials are far less common domestically.

In European specialty markets – particularly across specialty chemicals such as lubricants, coatings, adhesives and polymers – it is standard for sales professionals to:

• Hold a BSc or higher in a technical discipline (chemistry, chemical engineering, materials science, polymer science, mechanical engineering, etc.)
• Sell into complex manufacturing and formulation-driven environments
• Engage directly with R&D, formulation teams, production, and technical customer stakeholders
• Translate complex product performance into commercial value
• Combine strong sales and technical skills – requiring problem-solving and consultative abilities rather than traditional transactional selling.

These capabilities are critical when selling high-value specialty products, which are typically designed for specific performance outcomes such as durability, compliance, efficiency, or sustainability – rather than simple price competitiveness.

In the US, however, sales roles – especially those rooted in energy, oil & gas, or commodity-driven sectors – have traditionally emphasised:

• Commercial experience over technical education
• Relationship management over application expertise
• Volume-driven targets over consultative, solution-led selling

As specialty raw materials and finished products become more central to competitiveness, companies attempting to recruit using traditional US sales profiles often encounter slow hiring timelines, poor candidate fit, and limited penetration into technically demanding markets.

The European Advantage: A Ready-Made Talent Model

European specialty markets have spent decades refining a talent model built specifically for technical selling across the specialty chemicals and materials value chain – from advanced raw materials and additives through to highly engineered finished products.

This means that:

• Candidate pools already exist with both technical degrees and commercial experience
• Sales professionals are accustomed to selling specialty chemicals, lubricant additives, coating systems, adhesive formulations, and polymers rather than pure commodities
• Technical selling is a core career path, not a niche exception
• Candidates are comfortable operating in regulated, innovation-driven, and cost-pressured environments
• They have the knowledge and experience to collaborate  across multi-disciplined stakeholders – chemists, engineers, procurement

An experienced recruitment partner working with existing European clients in specialty chemicals and materials has direct access to this talent ecosystem. More importantly, they understand how to translate European technical sales profiles into successful hires for US-based organisations adopting this model – ensuring speed, quality, and long-term commercial impact.

Why Speed and Quality Depend on the Right Recruitment Partner

As US companies move toward a European-style specialty sales strategy, speed and quality of hiring become business-critical. Delays or mis-hires can result in:

• Missed market opportunities
• Poor customer adoption of new products
• Extended sales cycles without revenue conversion
• Damage to brand credibility in technical markets

A specialist recruitment partner with proven European expertise delivers:

1. Faster Access to the Right Candidates

Instead of building a technical sales candidate base from scratch, experienced partners leverage:

• Established European talent networks
• Pre-vetted candidates with BSc-level education or higher
• Sales professionals already operating in specialty product environments

This dramatically reduces time-to-hire.

2. Higher Quality of Hire

Recruiters familiar with the European model understand how to assess:

• Technical depth versus surface-level product knowledge
• Ability to sell value rather than price
• Experience navigating complex customer applications

The result is sales talent that can sell technically from day one, not candidates who require years of upskilling.

3. Effective Translation of Skills Across Markets

A key advantage of a European-focused recruitment partner is their ability to translate technical sales capability into the US context – aligning communication styles, customer expectations, and commercial structures without losing technical rigor.

Why Traditional US Recruitment Falls Short

Generalist recruitment firms often struggle with this transition because:

• They lack access to technically educated sales candidates
• They assess sales success through revenue metrics alone
• They are unfamiliar with specialty, lower-volume sales models

Without a deep understanding of how technical sales works in Europe, these firms risk prioritising speed over fit- or worse, delivering neither.

Solving the Talent Gap with Proven European Expertise

As the US market increasingly mirrors the European specialty model, the talent strategy must evolve in parallel. Success now depends on technically driven sales professionals who can articulate complex value propositions, engage with technical stakeholders, and sell performance – not price.

The most effective solution is to partner with an experienced recruitment firm already recruiting within this European model for existing EU clients. This approach ensures:

• Faster hiring timelines
• Higher-quality technical sales talent
• A seamless transition into specialty product markets

In a market where speed and quality are no longer optional, choosing the right recruitment partner is not just a hiring decision- it is a competitive advantage.

By Joe Malik, Principal Consultant, Chemicals, Skills Alliance