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Dow Chemical Company

The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. The company was among the three largest chemical producers in the world in 2021.[2] It is the operating subsidiary of Dow Inc., a publicly traded holding company incorporated under Delaware law.[3]

"Dow Inc." redirects here. Not to be confused with Dow Jones & Company.

Company type

1897 (1897)
(original company)
April 1, 2019 (2019-04-01) (current iteration)

Worldwide

Chemicals, plastics, performance chemicals, catalysts, coatings, hydrocarbon exploration

Decrease US$44.62 billion (2023)

Decrease US$656 million (2023)

Decrease US$589 million (2023)

Decrease US$57.97 billion (2023)

Decrease US$18.61 billion (2023)

c. 35,900 (2023)

With a presence in around 160 countries, it employs about 36,000 people worldwide.[1] Dow has been called the "chemical companies' chemical company",[4] as its sales are to other industries rather than directly to end-use consumers. Dow is a member of the American Chemistry Council.[5]


In 2015, Dow and fellow chemical company DuPont agreed to a corporate reorganization involving the merger of Dow and DuPont followed by a separation into three different entities. The plan commenced in 2017, when Dow and DuPont merged to form DowDuPont, and was finalized in April 2019, when the materials science division was spun off from DowDuPont and took the name of the Dow Chemical Company.[6][7][8][9]

was Dow's first manufacturing site in Canada, located in the Chemical Valley area alongside other petrochemical companies.[55] In 1942, the Canadian government invited Dow to build a plant there to produce styrene (an essential raw material used to make synthetic rubber for World War II). Dow then built a polystyrene plant in 1947. In August 1985, the site accidentally discharged 11,000 litres of perchloroethylene (a carcinogenic dry cleaning chemical) into the St. Clair River, which gained infamy in the media as "The Blob", and Dow Canada was charged by the Ministry of the Environment.[56][57] Up to the early 1990s, Dow Canada's headquarters was located at the Modeland Centre, and a new three-story complex called the River Centre was opened up on the Sarnia site in 1993 to house Research and Development.[58] Since then, several plants (Dow terminology for a production unit) on the site have been dismantled, particularly the Basic Chemicals including Chlor Alkali unit whose closure was announced in 1991 and carried out in 1994 which affected nearly half of the site's employees. The Dow Canada headquarters were moved to Calgary, Alberta in 1996, and the Modeland Centre was sold to Lambton County and the City of Sarnia with Dow leasing some office space. The Dow Fitness Centre was donated to the YMCA of Sarnia-Lambton in 2003. The Sarnia Site's workforce declined from a peak of 1600 personnel in the early 1990s to about 400 by 2002.[59] In the late 1990s, land on the site was sold to TransAlta which built a natural gas power plant that begun operations in 2002 to supply electricity to the remaining Sarnia site plants and facilities, so that Dow could close its older less efficient steam plant (originally coal fired and later burning natural gas).[60] On 31 August 2006, Dow announced that the entire Sarnia site would cease operations at the end of 2008. The Sarnia site had been supplied with ethylene through a pipeline from western Canada but BP officials warned Dow that shipments from the pipeline had to be suspended for safety reasons, and the loss of an affordable supply for the low density polyethylene plant rendered all the other operations at the site non-competitive.[61] The Low-Density Polyethylene and Polystyrene units closed in 2006, followed by the Latex Unit in 2008, and finally the Propylene Oxide Derivatives Unit in April 2009. Dow afterward focused its efforts on the environmental remediation of the vacant site, which was sold to TransAlta.[59] The former site has since been renamed the Bluewater Energy Park, with the River Centre remaining available for lease.[62]

Sarnia, Ontario

One plant at its site in , a triple string STR styrene polymer production unit. Integral in the company's development of the super high melt foam specific polymers & Styron A-Tech high gloss, high impact polymers.[63]

Barry (South Wales)

One plant at its site in (Venice), Italy.[64]

Porto Marghera

Two plants at its site in , Alberta, Canada.[55]

Fort Saskatchewan

– president and CEO, MasterCard[134]

Ajay Banga

– chemistry professor, California Institute of Technology[134]

Jacqueline Barton

– former president and CFO, Boeing[134]

James A. Bell

- chairman of the board and chief executive officer of U.S. Bancorp[135]

Richard K. Davis

– chairman and CEO, Whirlpool Corp.[134]

Jeff Fettig

- chairman and CEO, Dow Inc.[134]

Jim Fitterling

– former chairman and CEO, The Dow Chemical Co.[134]

Andrew N. Liveris

- former chief financial officer, IBM[136]

Mark Loughridge

- lead director of Nucor and former chairman and CEO of Foster Wheeler AG[137]

Raymond J. Milchovich

- International Automotive Components (IAC) Group[138]

Robert S. (Steve) Miller

– CEO Unilever PLC and Unilever[134]

Paul Polman

– former chairman Covidien Ltd.[134]

Dennis H. Reilley

– vice chairman, Illinois Tool Works Inc.[134]

James Ringler

– former president and CEO, Duke Energy Corp.[134]

Ruth G. Shaw

The final board of directors of The Dow Chemical Co. were, prior to the closing of the merger with DuPont on 1 September 2017:[133]


The ten members of the board of directors of today's iteration of Dow are:[139][140]

Major sponsorships[edit]

In July 2010, Dow became a worldwide partner of the Olympic Games. The sponsorship extended until 2020.[141][142]


In September 2004, Dow obtained the naming rights to the Saginaw County Event Center in Saginaw, Michigan; the center is now called the Dow Event Center. The Saginaw Spirit (of the Ontario Hockey League) plays at the center, which also hosts events such as professional wrestling, live theater, and concerts.[143][144][145]


In October 2006, Dow bought the naming rights to the stadium used by the Great Lakes Loons, a Single-A minor league baseball team located in its hometown of Midland, Michigan. The stadium is called Dow Diamond. The Dow Foundation played a key role in bringing the Loons to the city.


In 2010, Dow signed a $100m (£63m) 10-year deal with the International Olympic Committee and agreed to sponsor the £7m Olympic Stadium wrap.[146]


Since 2014 Dow also sponsors Austin Dillon's #3 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Major collaborations[edit]

Lab Safety Academy[edit]

On 20 May 2013, Dow launched the Dow Lab Safety Academy, a website that includes a large collection of informational videos and resources that demonstrate best practices in laboratory safety.[147] The goal of the website is to improve awareness of safety practices in academic research laboratories and to help the future chemical workforce develop a safety mindset. As such, the Dow Lab Safety Academy is primarily geared toward university students. However, Dow has made the content open to all, including those already employed in the chemical industry. The Dow Lab Safety Academy is also available through the Safety and Chemical Engineering Education program, an affiliate of American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE); and The Campbell Institute, an organization focusing on environment, health and safety practices.


The Dow Lab Safety Academy is one component of Dow's larger laboratory safety initiative launched in early 2012, following a report from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board[148] that highlighted the potential hazards associated with conducting research at chemical laboratories in academic institutions. Seeking to share industry best practices with academia, Dow partnered with several U.S. research universities to improve safety awareness and practices in the departments of chemistry, chemical engineering, engineering and materials. Through the pilot programs with U.C. Santa Barbara (UCSB), University of Minnesota, and Pennsylvania State University, Dow worked with graduate students and faculty to identify areas of improvement and develop a culture of laboratory safety.

Nature conservancy[edit]

In January 2011, The Nature Conservancy and The Dow Chemical Co. announced a collaboration[149] to integrate the value of nature into business decision-making. Scientists, engineers, and economists from The Nature Conservancy and Dow are working together at three pilot sites (North America, Latin America, and TBD[150]) to implement and refine models that support corporate decision-making related to the value and resources nature provides. Those ecosystem services include water, land, air, oceans and a variety of plant and animal life. These sites will serve as a “living laboratories”, to validate and test methods and models so they can be used to inform more sustainable business decisions at Dow and hopefully influence the decision-making and business practices of other companies.[151]

EQUATE Petrochemical Co. K.S.C.C.

The Kuwait Olefins Company K.S.C.C.

The Kuwait Styrene Company K.S.C.C.

Map Ta Phut Olefins Company Limited

SCG-DOW Group

Sadara Chemical Company

Dow Toray Co., Ltd. (joint venture with )[152]

Toray Indusrties

Companies part-owned by Dow include:[1]

former vice president of the AFL–CIO, and president of the United Steelworkers; worked at a Dow's aluminum rolling mill in Madison, Illinois, where he was a shop steward.[153]

George Becker

professional football player with the Green Bay Packers; worked for Dow following his football career.[154]

Buddy Burris

chemical engineer; worked at Dow's Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana division from 1965 to 1968.[155]

Norman F. Carnahan

Norwegian engineer, businessperson and politician; Dow engineer in Texas from 1967 to 1970.[156]

Sven Trygve Falck

Louisiana blues musician; worked at Dow's Baton Rouge, Louisiana facility.[157]

Larry Garner

first African-American female chemist employed at Dow; began working in 1965 at the E.C. Britton Lab.[158]

Bettye Washington Greene

vice president for Latin America and US Hispanics at Facebook; former public relations manager for Dow Chemical Brazil.[159]

Alexandre Hohagen

Olympic silver medalist; worked for Dow in Texas on the development of urethane and oxide polymers.[160]

Zdravko Ježić

youngest person elected to the House of Commons of Canada (prior to 2011); director of public affairs for Dow Canada.[161]

Claude-André Lachance

inventor of Styrofoam; began working for Dow in 1940 and became a research director.[162]

Ray McIntire

chemist who pioneered the technique of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry; began working at Dow's organic chemistry research laboratory in Midland, Michigan in the 1950s.[163]

Fred McLafferty

member of the Michigan Senate and Michigan House of Representatives; worked as a chemist for Dow.[164]

John Moolenaar

recipient of 1994 Nobel Prize in Chemistry; employed at Dow's Sarnia, Canada, plant in the late 1950s.[165]

George Andrew Olah

political scientist who developed the Overton window concept; worked for Dow as an electrical engineer, quality specialist, and project manager.[166]

Joseph Overton

inventor of the magnetic stripe card; worked for Dow in the 1950s.[167]

Forrest Parry

American organometallic chemist; worked for Dow at Midland, Michigan.[168]

Roy A. Periana

conservative American Islamic cleric; worked for Dow after obtaining a chemical engineering degree from the University of Houston.[169]

Abu Ammaar Yasir Qadhi

singer-songwriter; former shipping clerk at Dow's Freeport, Texas facility.[170]

Abraham Quintanilla Jr.

semiconductor pioneer who helped found Silicon Valley; former technical researcher at Dow.[171]

Sheldon Roberts

chemist and pharmacologist credited with introducing the drug MDMA ("ecstasy") to psychologists in the late 1970s; worked for Dow in the 1960s, where he invented Zectran, the first biodegradable insecticide.[172]

Alexander Shulgin

environmental activist; former technical researcher at Dow.[173]

Mary P. Sinclair

Centennial Endowed Chair of Chemical and Bio-Molecular Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; project leader at Dow's Industrial Biotechnology Laboratory.[174]

Huimin Zhao

BASF

Union Carbide

DuPont

Ray H. Boundy, J. Lawrence Amos. (1990). A History of the Dow Chemical Physics Lab: The Freedom to be Creative. M. Dekker.  0-8247-8097-3.

ISBN

E. Ned Brandt. (2003). Growth Company: Dow Chemical's First Century. Michigan State University Press.  0-87013-426-4 online book review

ISBN

Don Whitehead and Max Dendermonde. (1968). The Dow Story: The History of the Dow Chemical Co. McGraw-Hill.  90-800099-9-7.

ISBN

Official website

Bloomberg

Science History Institute Digital Collections (An extensive collection of photographs and slides depicting the facilities, operations, and products of The Dow Chemical Company, primarily dating from the second half of the 20th century).

Dow Chemical Company Historical Image Collection

Science History Institute Digital Collections (An extensive collection of domestic print advertisements, leaflets, posters, and other ephemera for various brands of The Dow Chemical Company, primarily taken from magazines published between 1921 and 1993).

Advertisements from the Dow Chemical Historical Collection