Dow Completes Construction of ELITE™ Enhanced Polyethylene Production Unit in Freeport, Texas
June 06 2017 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
- First of four new derivative
investments currently underway as part of Company’s previously
announced investments on the U.S. Gulf Coast
- Facility start-up will be sequenced
with mid-2017 start-up of Company’s world-scale ethylene production
facility
- Unit features proprietary solution
process technology with unmatched catalyst & comonomer
flexibility for applications in high-performance food packaging and
health and hygiene
The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) 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.
- New specialty low density
polyethylene for industrial and supply chain packaging
applications (Capacity: 350 KTA), which is also expected to come
online in coordination with the cracker;
- Next Generation NORDEL™ metallocene
EPDM to deliver solutions for higher-margin applications for
the transportation, infrastructure and consumer durables
end-markets (Capacity: 200 KTA), expected to startup in early
2018;
- Bi-modal gas phase de-bottleneck
to enable more offerings for high-performance pipe and fitting
applications, as well as the cap and closure market (125 KTA), to
follow later in 2018;
- High Melt Index Specialty and
Conventional Polyolefin Elastomers for high-performance
flexible packaging, transportation and consumer
markets (Capacity: 320 KTA), expected to come online in late
2018.
About Dow
Dow (NYSE: DOW) combines the power of science and technology to
passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. The
Company is driving innovations that extract value from material,
polymer, chemical and biological science to help address many of
the world's most challenging problems, such as the need for fresh
food, safer and more sustainable transportation, clean water,
energy efficiency, more durable infrastructure, and increasing
agricultural productivity. Dow's integrated, market-driven
portfolio delivers a broad range of technology-based products and
solutions to customers in 175 countries and in high-growth sectors
such as packaging, infrastructure, transportation, consumer care,
electronics, and agriculture. In 2016, Dow had annual sales of $48
billion and employed approximately 56,000 people worldwide. The
Company's more than 7,000 product families are manufactured at 189
sites in 34 countries across the globe. References to "Dow" or the
"Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated
subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted. More information
about Dow can be found at www.dow.com.
®TM Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company (“Dow”) or an
affiliated company of Dow
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170606005927/en/
The Dow Chemical CompanyJarrod ErpeldingCorporate Media
Relations989.633.1863jarrod.erpelding@dow.com
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