Dow BioProducts Discontinues Production of WOODSTALK Products

Calgary, Alberta, Canada - November 15, 2005

Today, Dow Chemical Canada Inc. (Dow Canada) announced that Dow BioProducts, a division of Dow Canada, will no longer operate and will cease manufacturing operations of WOODSTALK™ brand products from its plant in Elie, Manitoba, Canada by December 31, 2005.

In June 2001, Dow BioProducts was created through the acquisition of a majority of the assets of Isobord Enterprises and produced WOODSTALK, a more environmentally-friendly, high quality alternative to wood-based medium density fiberboard (MDF) and particle board.

While Dow BioProducts refined the manufacturing process and improved the quality of the product over the past five years, the demand in the marketplace for a high-quality, low VOC fiberboard product was not at a level high enough to generate the returns necessary to sustain the business. This, coupled with higher operating costs due to increased natural gas and oil prices and overall costs of doing business, made it ever more difficult to justify continued operation of the business and the plant.

The company's top priority during the shutdown process is the safety of employees, the community and the environment. During the shutdown process, equipment and machinery will be decommissioned and any remaining materials will undergo safe treatment and disposal.

About Dow Canada
Dow Chemical Canada Inc., a subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, employs approximately 1,500 people in Canada. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Dow Canada and its affiliates have manufacturing locations in: Sarnia and Weston, Ontario; Fort Saskatchewan and Prentiss, Alberta; Elie, Manitoba; and Varennes, Quebec. For more information about Dow Canada, please visit our web site at www.dowcanada.com

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For Editorial Information:

Myra Dean
The Dow Chemical Company
989-638-6969