Dow’s UCAR Emulsion Systems Announces Start-up of New Latex Facility at St. Charles, Louisiana

Cary, NC - February 01, 2006, UCAR Emulsion Systems (UES), a global business unit of The Dow Chemical Company, today announced the succesful start-up of its next-generation latex facility at St. Charles Operations (Hahnville, La.). The new facility represents a significant investment in UES by Dow and the Union Carbide Corporation and is the primary portion of the companies’ multi-year, $100MM staged investment plan in North American operations announced in early 2004.

“This new facility reflects our commitment to invest in production assets that match customer, community and North American needs for the next 20 years,” stated Thayne Hansen, business director, UES. “We are excited about working with our customers to capture the expanded production and process technology benefits imbedded in this new plant. St. Charles operations reflects our continued commitment to latex applications.”

The St. Charles Operations latex facility will replace existing latex manufacturing sites in Tucker, Georgia, and Garland, Texas, which are scheduled for closure by Union Carbide Corporation later this year.

Every aspect of the new latex facility’s operation, including the process, environmental controls, quality and worker safety, sets a new level of standards for latex plants worldwide. In addition, investments are currently underway at other UES production facilities to increase their long-term manufacturing capacity and capabilities. The new investment in St. Charles Operations is expected to add 30 permanent jobs.

About Dow UCAR Emulsion Systems
The UCAR Emulsion Systems business manufactures and markets emulsions for architectural and industrial coatings as well as for building products, textiles, traffic paint and adhesives. UCAR™ and NEOCAR™ latexes, and UCAR POLYPHOBE™ rheology modifiers can be formulated into a wide variety of products to enhance performance properties. UES operates at 13 production facilities globally, including five operating in North America.

About Dow
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.

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Nadine Keutzer

Dow Chemical Company

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