US' Dow to invest $100 mn in silicones expansion by 2027

The investments will expand Dow’s specialty silicones capabilities across the United States, China and Japan, focusing on advanced silicones and processing capabilities to meet growing global demand in mobility, electronics and health care applications.

“These investments underscore Dow’s focus on scaling specialty silicones materials and bringing innovation closer and faster to our customers,” said Brendy Lange, president of Performance Materials & Coatings. “By expanding manufacturing and innovation capabilities in these strategic regions, we are investing to meet increasing consumer demand, strengthening our global supply chain capabilities, and enabling customers to move faster from innovation to commercialization.”

Investments include:

• Liquid silicone rubber (LSR) manufacturing expansions in Carrollton, Kentucky, and Zhangjiagang, China, expected to come online in 2027, supporting high-performance applications across mobility, electronics and health care.
• Capacity expansions for engineered silicone materials opens in a new tab supporting advanced electronics applications—including power electronics, semiconductor packaging, thermal and electrical protection—are scheduled to come online this year in Songjiang, China, and Fukui, Japan, with additional expansions in Auburn, Michigan, and Zhangjiagang, China, expected in 2027, strengthening Dow’s specialty materials innovation and manufacturing backbone.
• Expanded Cooling Science Labs in Shanghai, China, earlier this year, and in Midland, Michigan, in June, supporting faster customer innovation for the development and scale-up of next-generation thermal management solutions.

This completes the series of silicones investments previously disclosed at Dow’s Investor Day event in 2024, with updated timing of the projects reflecting evolving market demand and affordability factors.

Supporting Growth in High Value Markets

Demand for specialty silicones continues to grow faster than GDP across mobility, electronics and medical applications, where product performance, supply reliability and technical capabilities are critical. Dow’s investments are designed to support these trends through regional, local-for-local manufacturing that aligns capacity with customer demand.

In mobility and electronics applications, the expanded capabilities support growing demand for high performance, reliable silicone solutions used in mobility intelligence modules, data centers and microelectronics, energy electronics, consumer electronics components, and advanced safety systems. In medical applications, the expanded footprint reinforces Dow’s value proposition of end-to-end local supply, an increasingly important requirement for regulated and mission-critical products.

Collectively across these applications, local manufacturing and technical support help customers improve supply reliability while meeting evolving performance and qualification requirements. They also enhance Dow’s ability to deliver consistent quality, accelerate commercialization, and provide customers globally with manufacturing scale close to key demand centers.

Dow is the world’s largest and most integrated silicones producer, with a world-class footprint across the Americas, Europe and Asia. Its strategic back-integration, diversified downstream portfolio, and industry-leading digital capabilities position the Company to meet increasing demand and serve customers more effectively.

Note: The headline, insights, and image of this press release may have been refined by the ALCHEMPro staff; the rest of the content remains unchanged.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (JP)