Dow pushes for more projects, investments in the US; expands ethylene capacity, builds world-scale PE unit

The Dow Chemical Company unveiled its next phase of comprehensive investments over the next five years to further enhance its competitive advantage and deliver earnings growth. These investments will stimulate economic activity, primarily in the US, while also creating a significant number of jobs tied to state-of-the-art manufacturing and infrastructure investments. Dow says it is continuing to accelerate its efforts to train and educate the workforce and close the skills gap for tomorrow’s manufacturing careers.

Andrew Liveris, Dow’s Chairman and CEO commented that 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 further invest in the US.

The projects extend Dow’s US growth investments to more than US$12 billion over a 10-year period and are expected to employ approximately 5,500 workers at peak activity, as well as 300 permanent jobs. Investments in the country 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 sad investments are expected to come online in a phased manner, beginning in 2020 and will require estimated capital expenditures of approximately US$4 billion, spread over the next five years.

The plan includes, among others, the expansion of the capacity of Dow’s new TX-9 ethylene cracker through the addition of two furnaces, bringing the facility’s total ethylene capacity to 2 million metric tonnes (mmt) and making the TX-9 cracker the largest ethylene facility in the world; and the construction of a world-scale 600,000 metric tonne 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.