()() is a multinational
Corporation headquartered in
Midland, Michigan ,
USA . In terms of
Market Capitalization , it is the largest
Chemical Company in the world, followed closely by
DuPont .
Dow is the world's largest producer of plastics including
Polystyrene ,
Polyurethane s,
Polyethylene Terephthalate ,
Polypropylene , and synthetic
Rubber s. It is also a major producer of the chemicals
Calcium Chloride , and
Ethylene Oxide , as well as various
Acrylate s,
Surfactant s, and
Cellulose resins. It produces many agricultural chemicals, perhaps being most famous for its
Pesticide Lorsban . On the consumer level, its most well-known products include
Saran wrap,
Ziploc bags (both of which now have been sold to
SC Johnson ),
Styrofoam and
Silly Putty .
Current members of the ,
Jacqueline Barton ,
J. Michael Cook ,
Willie Davis ,
Jeff Fettig ,
Barbara Franklin ,
Andrew N. Liveris ,
Keith McKennon ,
Pedro Reinhard ,
James Ringler ,
Harold Shapiro ,
Ruth Shaw ,
William Stavropoulos , and
Paul Stern .
The Dow Chemical Company was founded in
1897 by
Herbert Henry Dow in order to extract
Chloride s and
Bromide s from
Brine deposits under
Midland, Michigan . Its initial products included
Bromine and
Bleach . Even in its early history, the company set a tradition of rapidly diversifying its product line. Within twenty years, Dow had become a major producer of
Agricultural chemicals, elemental
Chlorine ,
Phenol and other
Dye stuffs, and
Magnesium metal.
In the
1930s , Dow began production of
Plastic resins, which would grow to become one of the corporation's major businesses. Its first plastic products were
Ethylcellulose , made in 1935, and
Polystyrene , made in 1937.
In
1930 , Dow built its first plant to produce
Magnesium extracted from
Seawater rather than underground brine. Growth of this business made Dow a strategically important business during
World War II , as
Magnesium became important in fabricating lightweight parts for
Airplane s. Also during the war, Dow and
Corning began their joint venture
Dow Corning to produce
Silicone s for military and later civilian use. In 1942 Dow began its foreign expansion with the formation of Dow Chemical of Canada in
Sarnia , Ontario to produce
Styrene for use in
Styrene-butadiene Synthetic Rubber .
In the post-war era, Dow began expanding outside North America, founding its first overseas subsidiary in
Japan in
1952 , with several other nations following rapidly thereafter. Based largely on its growing plastics business, it opened a consumer products division beginning with
Saran Wrap in
1953 . Based on its growing chemicals and plastics businesses, Dow's sales exceeded $1 billion in 1964, $2 billion in
1971 , and $10 billion in 1980.
In
September 2004 , Dow obtained the naming rights of the Saginaw County Event Center in nearby
Saginaw, Michigan , and the facility's new name is now
The Dow Event Center . The deal is worth $10 Million, and is said to last until
2014 . The center houses the
Ontario Hockey League Ice Hockey team,
Saginaw Spirit .
Today, Dow is the world's largest producer of plastics, and with its 2001 acquisition of
Union Carbide has become a major player in the
Petrochemical industry as well.
As one of the largest producers of chemicals in the world for the past century, Dow has been involved in a number of controversial incidents and produced many inherently toxic products. Some of these incidents recently made national headlines as a
Student Campaign for the
Bhopal Disaster focused their efforts on boycotts of Dow's educational funding and products.
Throughout the
1980s and
1990s , consumer groups alleged that Dow Corning's (
Dow Corning is a joint venture between Dow Chemical and
Corning Glass Works ) silicone
Breast Implant s caused numerous health problems including breast
Cancer ,
Autoimmune Disease s including
Lupus and
Rheumatoid Arthritis , and various neurological problems. This led to numerous lawsuits beginning in 1984 and culminating in a 1998
Class Action settlement in which tens of thousands of plaintiffs accepted a $3.2 billion award.
Safety issues remain a concern, particularly regarding the rate of rupture and the long term effects.
The
Bhopal Disaster resulted in the highest number of deaths of any
Industrial Disaster in recent history. The group
Amnesty International reports that over 22,000 people have died to date from the disaster and ongoing water contamination from the plant site. An accidental chemical release of forty metric tons of
Methyl Isocyanate (MIC) occurred on December 3rd, 1984 from a
Union Carbide India, Limited (UCIL) facility in Bhopal, India. Company documents from the plant's construction characterized the technology used in the plant as risky, and the plant was operating outside of guidelines to save money at the time of the disaster.
The Bhopal plant was a
Joint Venture between the
Union Carbide Corporation US and Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL). Extensive investigations and legal hearings took place during which time a settlement of over $470 million was reached without consulting the disaster survivors. The settlement worked out to about $500 per survivor for survivors who are permanently disabled. Ten years after the original incident, Union Carbide sold its 50.9% share of UCIL (along with all remaining liabilities) to
MacLeod Russell Limited of Calcutta and voluntarily donated all proceeds of the sale to the establishment of a hospital in Bhopal.
It is worthy to note that Dow Chemical did not own Union Carbide at the time of the disaster.
Starting in the early 2000s, residents living on the Tittabawassee River near the company's headquarters in
Midland and nearby
Saginaw counties in
Michigan filed a class-action lawsuit against the company for
Dioxin contamination (levels of dioxins were found above those allowed by the Department of Environmental Quality) in the soil on the riverbed and along its shores. As of June
2005 , the case is still awaiting class certification.
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The Dow Chemical Company has offices in many different countries and regions. Below is an incomplete list of the known operation centers:
- India - Mumbai
- Handa, Aichi , Japan ,
- Malaysia , Optimal - JV with Petronas, Seremban UES - JV;
- Indonesia , Merak, Medan;
- Thailand - Ma Tha Put;
- The Philippines - Batangas;
- China - Shanghai , GuangZhou , ZhangJiaGang , Beijing , Hong Kong , Taiwan ;
- Australia ;
- South Korea ;
