DOW Dow Inc

The global chemical company, Dow Chemical Company (DOW) declared that it is making people and technology investments in a Packaging Center of Excellence in Horgen, Switzerland to better serve the needs of the packaging industry across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Doubling the staff of its packaging center Dow would have a total of approximately 20-25 people, and significantly expanding its capabilities for testing and prototyping adhesive laminating and film structures for food and beverage packaging needs.

The packaging center will have the technical and scientific skills of DOW’s employees along with equipment and collaboration space for specialty adhesives, resins and formulated films in one place. Dow will collaborate with converters and brand owners to improve the packaging industry by holding seminars and forums where they will provide their valuable insight for the future needs.

Due to the increasing population and the limited supply of arable land for food production, Dow envisions that there is an increasing need to cater to more and more people in an efficient manner.

Smarter packaging design and better packaging materials are one important way to reduce wastage, according to the company. Packaging being a crying need of the hour, DOW is creating opportunities for people to share their knowledge, identify trends, work together and thus accelerate the growth of the packaging industry.

On the one hand, Dow will continue providing technical expertise, Horgan on the other will remain a place where customers can check and adjust formulations to get the best results on their own packaging machinery.

Dow supplies high-performance materials, agricultural products, plastics (polyethylene and polypropylene) and industrial chemicals to industries and consumers globally. The company’s products have a vast array of applications and are used by various industries including farming, construction, transportation, electronics and consumer goods.

Recently, Dow reported its first quarter of 2011 results. The company earned $0.82 per share in the first quarter of 2011, ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.67 per share as well as last year’s $0.43 per share. However, including one-time charges, the company earned $0.54 per share compared with $0.41 per share in the year-ago quarter.

Quarterly revenues jumped 20% year over year to $14.7 billion and were above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $13.8 billion. Volume and pricing gains across all business segments and geographical regions, particularly North America and Europe, yielded healthy revenue growth.

Dow anticipates that demand would improve further, especially in Asia with the global economic recovery. The US and European markets have also started showing signs of improvement. Dow is also optimistic on major consumer-markets, including electronics, coatings, automotive and packaging. However, construction markets are expected to remain weak.

DOW faces stiff competition from EI DuPont de Nemours & Co. (DD).

Currently, Dow has a short-term (1 to 3 months) Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) but a long- term Neutral recommendation.

 
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