Mar 11 2008
Dow Polyurethanes, a business group within The Dow Chemical Company and its subsidiaries (Dow), today announced that Dow has broken ground on a major capacity expansion at its polyols plant in Terneuzen, The Netherlands. Dow’s investment in the Terneuzen facility will expand polyol production capacity by 180 kilotons per annum (KTA).
Dow announced it would move forward with the detailed engineering phase of a name-plate capacity expansion at the Terneuzen plant in September 2007. The expansion is on track to be completed by mid 2009. The plant’s infrastructure is currently undergoing extensive modifications, including new tanks and loading stations.
“This expansion supports Dow’s commitment to further grow our Performance businesses, like Dow Polyurethanes, throughout Europe,” said Doug Warner, business director for polyols, Dow Polyurethanes. “The Terneuzen site is one of the largest polyols production facilities in the world, and this significant investment will allow us to continue to serve our customers with the specialty polyols and polyurethanes systems products they need to differentiate themselves in the market.”
Global demand for polyurethanes continues to grow at a rate of 5 percent per year, fueled by increased consumption of polyurethane products in automotive, furniture and bedding, building and construction, and appliance applications. The polyol products that Dow manufactures at the Terneuzen site are used to make polyurethane products and fully formulated systems for a variety of end-use markets.