Midland, MI - January 12, 2005
New jobs and automotive product manufacturing will come to Midland over the next four years as part of an investment of more than $100 million announced today for The Dow Chemical Company’s Michigan Operations manufacturing site.
“We are pleased to bring this project to Midland. This is Dow’s world headquarters and we have done manufacturing here for more than 100 years,” said Romeo Kreinberg, senior vice president for Plastics. “This automotive project is an excellent example of a product area within our plastics portfolio that we are expanding to take advantage of business opportunities.”
This announcement follows approval last month by both the City of Midland and Michigan’s Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) of an amendment to Dow’s Brownfield Redevelopment Plan and Renaissance Zone Development Agreement. The incentive package includes $9.99 million in single business tax credit from the state, along with exemption for property tax within the Renaissance Zone, and a 12-year local Industrial Facilities Tax exemption.
Michigan Operations Site Leader Don Taylor said the project is symbolic of the emergence of the Midland site as a globally-competitive, growing site within the company.
“For the past several years, we’ve focused on doing everything we could to make Michigan Operations a site of choice for Dow businesses,” Taylor said. With the Oligo and rice herbicides projects and now this automotive project, we’re seeing the fruits of the hard work put in by everyone here at Michigan Operations. The site has become more competitive through cost reductions, work process improvements, and Dow technology.”
The two-phase project will begin in 2005 with the demolition of outdated structures, renovation of used and abandoned buildings, addition of new construction and installation of equipment to make adhesives and sealants for the automotive industry. This first phase will be on line in 2007, employing 79 workers in a range of jobs from plant leaders and technical workers to operators and logistics staff.
Phase two of the project involves capital spending on renovation and construction of a plant for the manufacture of automotive filters. The second phase will add 30 employees, with startup planned for late 2009.
Dow is a leader in science and technology, providing innovative chemical, plastic and agricultural products and services to many essential consumer markets. With annual sales of $33 billion, Dow serves customers in more than 180 countries and a wide range of markets that are vital to human progress, including food, transportation, health and medicine, personal and home care, and building and construction, among others. Committed to the principles of sustainable development, Dow and its approximately 46,000 employees seek to balance economic, environmental and social responsibilities. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted.
For Editorial Information:
Anne Ainsworth
The Dow Chemical Company
(989) 636-9142
