Dow announces next phase of investments

The Dow Chemical Company has announced the next phase of its comprehensive investments in North America over the next five years, which will further enhance its competitive advantage and deliver earnings growth.

These investments will stimulate economic activity, primarily in the United States, while also creating a significant amount of job tied to state of the art manufacturing and infrastructure investments.

Dow also continues to accelerate its efforts to train and educate the workforce, and close the skills gap for tomorrow’s manufacturing careers.

The announced project extends Dow’s US growth investment to more than $12 billion (£9.34 billion) over a ten-year period, and Dow is expected to employ around 5,500 workers at peak activity, as well as over 300 permanent jobs.

Andrew Liveris, Chairman and CEO of Dow, said: “The announcement underscores Dow’s commitment to driving the next phase of our growth through a comprehensive set of investments that will benefit our shareholders, customers, employees, and the communities in which we operate. Manufacturing plays a vital role in driving economic growth and prosperity across virtually all sectors of society. The positive investment environment in the US chemical and materials sector, driven by competitive feedstocks and a skilled workforce, is a driver for Dow to invest further invest in the USA.”

Investments in the United States will support the largest job creation, reaching approximately 3,500 construction jobs and 200 full-time technical, vocational, and professional careers.

The job creation is also expected to have a multiplier effect, supporting additional employment of nearly 2,000 jobs across the broader economy.

The announced investments are expected to be put in place in a phased manner, beginning in 2020, and will require estimated capital expenditures of approximately $4 billion (£3.1 billion), spread over the next five years.

The primary components of the investment plan include expanding the capacity of Dow’s new TX-9 ethylene cracker, and construction of a world-scale 600,000 metric ton polyethylene unit in the US Gulf Coast based on Dow’s proprietary Solution Process technology.

This new capacity will address consumer-driven demand in specialty packaging, health and hygiene, and industrial and consumer packaging applications.

Dow will pursue a series of investments to strengthen its polyurethanes franchise aimed at driving downstream specialty polyols, systems growth, and infrastructure enhancements.   

The company will undertake a series of incremental debottleneck projects across its global asset network that will deliver approximately 350,000 metric tonnes of additional polyethylene, the majority of which will be in North America.

Jim Fitterling, Dow’s President and Chief Operating Officer, said: “These multi-phased investment plans, now spanning over a decade, enhance our unparalleled cost-advantage integration, and bolster our industry-leading innovation to deliver long-term growth. Collectively, these growth driver position Dow, the world’s leading Materials Science Company, to deliver enhanced products and technologies for our customers while enabling higher quality and more consistent earnings growth and cash flow generation for our shareholders.”