Dow Celebrates Latex Facility Start-up

St. Charles, LA - April 29, 2006

	Dow Celebrates Latex Facility Start-up

Numerous state and local officials attended a colorful and unique ceremony at the St. Charles Operations facility in Hahnville on April 28th to celebrate the start-up of Dow’s new state-of-the-art latex facility.

Instead of a traditional ribbon cutting, guests painted a large “Open for Business” banner using latex paints made with the latex products manufactured at the new facility. Latex products manufactured at St. Charles Operations are used by the architectural coatings and building products industries and in end products such as paints, caulks, sealants and tapes.

Thayne Hansen, Global Business Director for Dow’s UCAR Emulsion Systems Business said, “This new facility is one of the largest and most complex latex facilities in the world and the first grassroots latex plant built in the U.S. in 30 years.”

Hansen explained that Dow chose St. Charles Operations for its new facility because the company already has an established working relationship with Louisiana and $8 billion in assets at St. Charles Operations.  In addition, Louisiana is strategically located for distribution logistics, and it offers a talented, capable workforce, as demonstrated by the more than 6,000 employees and contractors already working for Dow statewide. 

“Because of the ‘Can Do’ attitude of our employees and business partners, this facility started up within 30 days of its target date in the face of tremendous challenges presented by Hurricane Katrina,” added Hansen.  “This is a proud day for Louisiana and a proud day for Dow.”

Don Pierson, Assistant Secretary, Office of Business Development, Louisiana Economic Development attended the event and commented, “This new latex facility sends a wonderful message to everyone that Louisiana is not only open for business and moving forward but is also currently presenting unprecedented opportunity.”
 
Guests also toured the latex control room and were able to see first-hand how the plant operates. The new plant utilizes the latest emulsion polymer manufacturing technology, and the processes are fully automated, which ensures safety as well as consistent, reliable, quality products for customers.

Nawzer Parakh, Dow Site Leader for St. Charles Operations concluded, “Being a good neighbor and improving the quality of life in the communities where our facilities are located is important to Dow. I believe this new latex plant is a direct reflection of that commitment and Dow’s commitment to investing in Louisiana.”

Dow is a diversified chemical company that harnesses the power of science and technology to improve living daily. The Company offers a broad range of innovative products and services to customers in more than 175 countries, helping them to provide everything from fresh water, food and pharmaceuticals to paints, packaging and personal care products. Built on a commitment to its principles of sustainability, Dow has annual sales of $46 billion and employs 42,000 people worldwide. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted.  St. Charles Operations is owned by Union Carbide Corporation, which is a subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company.

For Editorial Information:

Jolen T. Stein
St. Charles Operations
(985) 783-4990