Dow to Expand Capacity for Divinylbenzene (DVB)

The Dow Chemical Company announced today plans to expand its global-scale divinylbenzene (DVB) plant, located at the company’s Michigan Operations manufacturing site. Scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter of 2007, the expansion will increase Dow’s capacity for DVB by approximately 3 million pounds per year (1350 metric tons per year). The amount of the investment was not disclosed.

“This investment brings two critical capabilities that will enable Dow to grow with our customers,” said Marvin Bourelle, commercial director for Specialty Polymers at Dow. “We will not only increase capacity, but also will implement process improvements that will strengthen product reliability, consistency and quality to better meet customer needs.”

Bourelle noted that the market for DVB has become increasingly tight and that Dow expects to see continued strong global demand ahead as a result of growth in end-use applications such as ion exchange resins, adhesives, specialty plastics, and elastomers.

In addition to meeting demand from the external marketplace, the DVB expansion will enable Dow to satisfy internal requirements, particularly for the manufacture of DOWEX™ ion exchange resins offered by Dow Water Solutions.

“As a building block for many performance-based, specialty applications, this expansion is key for advancing several Dow performance business strategies,” said Peter Davies, business group president, Designed Polymers and Latex at Dow. “It is also an excellent example of Dow’s ability to leverage its integrated manufacturing assets to respond to customer and market needs.”