Chemical distributors have always played an essential role in the coatings industry. Historically, most distributors represented commodities, solvents and packaging at the local or regional level. While that is still important today, of growing importance is the focus on value-added services from the national specialty chemical distributor. As chemical suppliers choose to reduce headcount in the area of sales and technical support, opportunities continue to reveal themselves for full-service national specialty chemical distributors. What value-added services could a sales team based around the country provide, you might ask? Salespeople not only must be knowledgeable about the product technology of various suppliers but also must be able to provide regulatory information needed by the compliance department, as well as pricing and logistics support for purchasing teams at their customers.