Dow Chemical announces further moves to bolster competitiveness
17 Dec '07
4 min read
The Company will write down its investment in a joint venture - Pétromont and Company, Limited Partnership – due to an unfavorable financial outlook, reflecting significant long-term economic challenges.
The Company's styrene plant in Camaçari, Brazil, will be idled on January 1, 2008, in the wake of escalating competition and weak industry fundamentals.
The Company will close its manufacturing facility for hydroxyethyl cellulose located in Aratu, Brazil, in the face of capacity limitations, high structural and raw material costs, and aging technology.
After studying several options to improve the profitability of the facility, the Company opted to close the plant during the first quarter of 2008.
Union Carbide Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, will shut down its polypropylene facility at St. Charles Operations in Louisiana before the end of the year. The decision was driven by a number of factors, including the substantial capital costs required to maintain long-term operations at the facility.
And the Company will significantly reduce support functions, including R&D, at the Union Carbide site in South Charleston, West Virginia, as those functions continue to align their activities more closely with Dow's strategic growth objectives. Approximately 200 jobs will be affected.
“We are committed to maximizing value across every aspect of our operations – within both our businesses and our functions. Decisions like these are not easy, but they will remain a fundamental part of our strategic agenda, maintaining a solid foundation of efficiency and efficacy as we aggressively build the Company to deliver long-term shareholder value,” said Liveris.
“We recognize the uncertainty and anxiety that these decisions will cause our employees, their families and those living in the communities near our sites; and we will work hard to minimize the impact of these changes on those affected,” he said.
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