Dow Chemical Co.’s largest integrated manufacturing site — and the largest chemical complex in North America, with 4,200 employees and 3,800 contractors on site daily — is about to get bigger as the Midland-based company begins construction on a new portion of its operations in Freeport, Texas.
Construction for the new facility, which will produce ethylene in world-scale quantities, will begin Monday and is expected to create up to 2,000 construction-related jobs.
“This investment will connect cost-advantaged raw materials to many of the company’s highest-margin downstream businesses — including performance plastics (used in everything from food packaging to diapers) — that also consistently deliver a high return on invested capital,” says Jim Fitterling, Dow’s executive vice president of feedstocks, energy, and performance plastics.
Expected to open in early 2017, the ethylene facility will have a capacity to produce up to 1,500 kilotonnes of the raw material.
The new plant is part of the company’s recent multi-billion dollar investments in Texas and Louisiana. “Once fully operational, our Gulf Coast investments are projected to deliver an estimated $2.5 billion in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization and will serve as a solid base for long-term growth while further strengthening Dow’s market competitiveness,” Fitterling says.
IN RELATED NEWS, Dow has partnered with IBM to build an information systems delivery center in Athens, Greece.
“Our collaboration shows an ongoing commitment to Greece and its people,” says Andrew N. Liveris, Dow’s chairman and CEO. “We are proud to be part of a growing number of innovative businesses stimulating economic development and creating jobs in the local market. This is only the latest example of what Dow and IBM can accomplish together as global technology leaders.”
