06-06-2017

Dow completes construction of enhanced polyethylene production unit in Freeport

The Dow Chemical Company today announced the completion of  the construction phase of its new ELITE™ enhanced polyethylene  production facility in Freeport, Texas.

Completed on time, the 400,000 metric ton polyethylene unit is the first  of four new derivative investments currently under way at Dow’s  manufacturing sites in Texas and Louisiana as part of the company’s  previously announced $6 billion expansion on the U.S. Gulf Coast.

“This milestone further reflects the steady progress our teams are  making to bring these multi-phased investments online to enhance our  cost-advantaged integration and industry-leading innovation,” said Jim  Fitterling, Dow’s president and chief operating officer. “Taken  together, these investments represent the industry's broadest and most  differentiated derivative slate, fueled by Dow's proprietary catalyst  and process technologies, and will deliver enhanced products and  technologies for our customers while enabling higher quality growth for  our shareholders.”

The production unit now enters its commissioning and start-up phase in  sequence with the mid-year start-up of Dow’s 1.5 million metric ton  world-scale ethylene facility. The plant is expected to ramp up during  the third quarter and be fully operational in the fourth quarter.  Designed with Dow’s proprietary Solution process technology, the unit  will produce ELITE™ enhanced polyethylene resins, known for their  versatility and high performance attributes in multiple types of  flexible packaging applications for food, personal hygiene products and  industrial packaging.

“The mechanical completion of our first new polyethylene unit is yet  another milestone that brings us closer to having more volume to meet  growing customer demand globally,” said Diego Donoso, business president  for Dow’s Packaging and Specialty Plastics business. “As with our  ethylene production facility, the Dow team safely delivered the project  on time. This is yet another example of Dow’s ability to deliver on our  commitments to generate value for our customers, shareholders and  employees.”

Dow’s other three derivative units along with a planned debottleneck are  proceeding on schedule and are staged to come online throughout 2017 and  2018.