Helmut Sihler, president of the West German Chemical Industry Association (Verband der Chemischen Industrie), is confident of the continuing vitality of the country's chemical industry. We believe we can achieve an annual production growth rate of between 1.5 and 2% in real terms this year, and in the foreseeable future, he says. We are, on the whole, fairly optimistic. Sihler, who is president and chief executive of Henkel, a leading maker of chemicals and detergents headquartered in Dusseldorf, recently succeeded Hans Albers, chairman of BASF, as head of the Frankfurtbased association. During the coming two years in office, he will represent his country's extensive activities in the chemicals business. His optimism is set against the background of some uncertainty over the direction of the West German economy, which has been showing signs of slowing down. Last year, for instance, gross national product, a measure of a country's industrial wealth, grew 1.4%, well below the average ...