Difference between revisions of "Dow Chemical"
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| − | [[Dow Chemical]] is a diversified chemical company that offers a broad range of products and services to customers in more than 175 countries. | + | [[Dow Chemical]] is a diversified chemical company that offers a broad range of products and services to customers in more than 175 countries. Products include food and pharmaceuticals. Dow has annual sales of around $49 billion and employs 43,000 people worldwide. It spends around $1 bilion per annum in R&D. |
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Non-food Crops | Non-food Crops | ||
Non-crop Pests | Non-crop Pests | ||
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| + | The Company's vision is "To be the largest, most profitable, and most respected chemical company in the world". | ||
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| + | Dow Chemical is an active member of the [[American Chemistry Council]], and an active partner in different programs and initiatives in both the [[World Bank]] and United Nations. | ||
| + | Products | ||
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| + | == Pesticides == | ||
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| + | Chlorpyrifos was until 2000 one of the most widely used household pesticide in the US. However, chlorpyrifos is also a nerve toxin and suspected endocrine disruptor and has been associated with carcinogenicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity, and acute toxicity. One study claims that Dow has contributed to 80% of the Chlorpyrifos burden of the US. | ||
| + | In 1995, Dow was fined $732,000 for not sending the EPA reports it had received on 249 Dursban poisoning incidents. In June 2000, Dow withdrew registration of chlorpyrifos for use in homes and other places where children could be exposed, and severely restricted its use on crops. The company, however, continues to market Dursban in industrializing countries, including India, where Dow's sales literature claimed Dursban has "an established record of safety regarding humans and pets." | ||
| + | In 2003, Dow agreed to pay $2 million - the largest penalty ever in a pesticide case - to the state of New York, in response to a lawsuit filed by the Attorney General to end Dow's illegal advertising of Dursban as "safe". | ||
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| + | Human rights controversies | ||
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| + | Napalm | ||
| + | During the Vietnam War, Dow became the sole supplier of napalm to the United States military. Napalm, an incendiary liquid used as a weapon in Vietnam, led to human casualties that were widely displayed in the news media. Protests of Dow took place at many colleges but Dow's board of directors voted to continue production of napalm (after attempting to persuade the U.S. Department of Defense to accept responsibility for napalm and exculpate Dow's management). | ||
| + | Agent Orange | ||
| + | Agent Orange, a chemical defoliant containing dioxin, was also manufactured by Dow for use by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War; the dioxin from the defoliant made its way into the food chain and was linked to a major increase in birth defects among Vietnamese people. In 2005, a lawsuit was filed by Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange against Dow and Monsanto, which also supplied Agent Orange to the military. The companies argued that no link between Agent Orange and the alleged health problems had been proven, and furthermore that the companies are not responsible for the manner in which their products are used by the military.[18] The lawsuit was thrown out.[19] In 2006, a court in South Korea did order Dow and Monsanto to compensate South Korean veterans of the Vietnam War and their families for Agent Orange-related injuries.[20] | ||
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| + | Board of directors | ||
| + | Current members of the board of directors of The Dow Chemical Company are Arnold Allemang (who is also a senior adviser to the company); chemistry professor Jacqueline Barton; former Boeing manager James A. Bell; Whirlpool Corporation chairman and CEO Jeff Fettig; former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Barbara Franklin; Dow chairman and CEO Andrew N. Liveris; Dow CFO Geoffery E. Merszei; Illinois Tool Works Inc. vice chairman James Ringler; Duke Energy Corporation president Ruth Shaw; and Claris Capital chairman Paul Stern (who is Dow's presiding director and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.)[23] | ||
| + | 2007 dismissals | ||
| + | On April 12, Dow dismissed two senior executives for "unauthorized discussions with third parties about the potential sale of the company." The two figures are executive vice president Romeo Kreinberg, and director and former CFO J. Pedro Reinhard. Dow claims they were secretly in contact with J. P. Morgan; at the same time, a story surfaced in Britain's Sunday Express regarding a possible leveraged buyout of Dow. The two executives have since filed lawsuits claiming they were fired for being a threat to CEO Liveris, and that the allegations were concocted as a pretext.[24] | ||
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| + | Dow CEO Andrew N. Liveris called 2005 the company's "best year ever" with operating profits of $5.4 billion, a jump of 56.5% compared with the previous year. [27] Net income rose more than 60% to $4.5 billion, on sales of $46.3 billion. 2006 looks as if it could be even better, with first-quarter net earnings of $1.2 billion. [28] All this is occurring in the context of adverse operating conditions, caused by high energy and raw material costs, and the effects of two damaging hurricanes. | ||
| + | Liveris supports the vertically integrated approach used at Dow, which produces everything from basic chemical feedstocks to high value products such as pesticides and reverse osmosis membranes. These value-adding product chains, along with Dow's wide product range, help the company to weather the storms of the global economy. Despite this, high energy and feedstock costs may begin to take their toll, particularly if global demand begins to fall just as supply is rising. | ||
| + | Like many chemical companies, Dow is facing pressures of regulation in the US and Europe, particularly as the EU introduces its new REACH policy. Litigation costs in the US taken over by Dow as a result of its 2001 takeover of Union Carbide also remain a concern. | ||
| + | For these reasons the company is looking to the Middle East and Asia for new projects. In Kuwait , Dow is constructing (with PIC of Kuwait) a new world-scale ethane cracker for production of ethylene, along with an ethylene oxide/ethylene glycol plant and (for 2008) a facility for production of aromatic hydrocarbons. In Oman, the company is working with the Oman government to build a new world-scale polyethylene plant. In China, the company is collaborating with Shenhua Group (the country's largest coal mining company) to improve catalyst efficiency to allow viable conversion of coal to olefins. Dow is also seeking to expand its R&D presence in Asia, adding 600 jobs in Shanghai by the end of 2007, and the company may open up a large R&D center in India. | ||
| + | The joint ventures planned for Asia are typical of Dow's "asset-light" approach, which works by offering a combination of intellectual property and money in exchange for a share in a world-scale production facility. At the same time, the company is considering selling a share of some of its existing assets in order to free up cash. | ||
| + | In June 2006 Liveris announced Dow's safety and environmental goals for 2015: [28] | ||
| + | 75% reduction in environmental, health and safety indicators from 2005. The company aims to have no fatalities, and a reduction in injuries, spillages and leaks. | ||
| + | 25% increase in energy efficiency. | ||
| + | 2.5% annual reduction in greenhouse gas emissions intensity. | ||
| + | Liveris expects these goals to be reached predominantly with fossil fuels, through energy conservation and reduction of energy intensity, as he does not expect alternative energy to play a major role for at least 10-20 years. | ||
| + | The Human Element | ||
| + | The Dow Chemical Company has from the 20th of June 2006 run several advertisements in a variety of media, starting with a video campaign and under the theme "The Human Element", designed to increase the awareness of the human aspect of the company, to highlight its vision of addressing some of the most pressing economic, social and environmental concerns facing the global community in the coming decade.[29] The advertisements feature a human face with 7E+09 at the bottom. The face is behind a fake periodic table entry, labeled "Hu", symbolizing the new element, the human element.[30] | ||
| + | [edit] Notes | ||
| + | 1.^ Hall of Fame Inventor Profile. National Inventors Hall of Fame. | ||
| + | 2.^ Corporate Profile. The Dow Chemical Company. | ||
| + | 3.^ Fast Facts. The Dow Chemical Company. | ||
| + | 4.^ Corporate Profile. The Dow Chemical Company. | ||
| + | 5.^ Chemical and Engineering News, Vol. 84, Issue 22 (May 29, 2006), pp 10-15 | ||
| + | 6.^ ANGUS Chemical Company. The Dow Chemical Company. | ||
| + | 7.^ Chemical and Engineering News, Vol. 84, Issue 22 (May 29, 2006), pp 10-15 | ||
| + | 8.^ Dow Chemical. University of Michigan Department of Geography. | ||
| + | 9.^ Brandt, E.N. (1997). Growth Company: Dow Chemical's First Century. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Press. ISBN 0-87013-426-4. | ||
| + | 10.^ Dow Announces Plant Closures To Strengthen Competitive Position. The Dow Chemical Company (August 31, 2006). | ||
| + | 11.^ Political Economy Research Institute | ||
| + | 12.^ Center for Public Integrity | ||
| + | 13.^ On This Day: December 3, 1984. British Broadcasting Corporation. | ||
| + | 14.^ Response: Union Carbide and Dow Chemical. British Broadcasting Corporation (November 25, 2004). | ||
| + | 15.^ "Panel Confirms No Major Illness Tied to Implants" (June 21, 1999), The New York Times | ||
| + | 16.^ Chronology of silicone breast implants. Frontline | ||
| + | 17.^ Colas, André; Curtis, Jim (2004). Biomaterials Science, Second Edition: An Introduction to Materials in Medicine. Elsevier, Academic Press. ISBN 978-0125824637. | ||
| + | 18.^ Agent Orange lawsuit opens in US. BBC (March 1, 2005). | ||
| + | 19.^ US won't compensate Vietnam's Agent Orange victims: official. Todayonline.com (June 6, 2006). | ||
| + | 20.^ Court rules against U.S. firms on Agent Orange. MSNBC (January 26, 2006). | ||
| + | 21.^ About Dow Corning. Dow Corning. | ||
| + | 22.^ Wade, Cheryl (June 24, 2006). Governor visits HSC; expansion plans on schedule. Midland Daily News. | ||
| + | 23.^ Board of Directors. The Dow Chemical Company. | ||
| + | 24.^ ""Former Dow executives fight back"", Chemical and Engineering News: 12, May 14, <http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/85/i20/8520notw6.html> | ||
| + | 25.^ The Dow Event Center. The Dow Chemical Company. | ||
| + | 26.^ Welcome to the Dow Event Center. Dow Event Center. | ||
| + | 27.^ "Top 50 Chemical Producers", Chemical and Engineering News, Vol. 84, Issue 20 (May 15, 2006), pp 10-15 | ||
| + | 28.^ a b "Liveris Tells It Like It Is", Chemical and Engineering News, Vol. 84, Issue 22 (May 29, 2006), pp 10-15 | ||
| + | 29.^ Dow Chemical Launches "The Human Element" Campaign. The Dow Chemical Company. | ||
| + | 30.^ Dow Chemical Unveils the Human Element. Ainsley Gibson, posted July 5, 2006. | ||
| + | [edit] External links | ||
| + | The Dow Chemical Company | ||
| + | Dow History | ||
| + | Dow Chemical Corporate News | ||
| + | Dow Chemical Company Information from Hoovers | ||
| + | Dow Chemical Company stock performance chart from Gstock | ||
| + | President George Hamilton will leave Dow Automotive (Automotive News [10]). | ||
| + | [11], Home page of "The Human Element" campaign | ||
Revision as of 19:21, 11 October 2007
Dow Chemical is a diversified chemical company that offers a broad range of products and services to customers in more than 175 countries. Products include food and pharmaceuticals. Dow has annual sales of around $49 billion and employs 43,000 people worldwide. It spends around $1 bilion per annum in R&D.
Joint ventures
Dow has joint ventures with the following companies:
Compañía Mega, S.A. Dow Corning Corporation EQUATE Petrochemical Co. K.S.C. Equipolymers MEGlobal Univation Technologies
Subsidiaries
Dow also has a number of subsidiaries, including Dow AgroSciences LLC and Union Carbide Corporation.
Dow Agrosciences UK part of AgroSciences LLC develops and manufactures products in the following areas Cereals Grassland Oilseed Rape Potatoes Sugar Beet Fruit Crop Vegetables Forage Maize Non-food Crops Non-crop Pests
The Company's vision is "To be the largest, most profitable, and most respected chemical company in the world".
Dow Chemical is an active member of the American Chemistry Council, and an active partner in different programs and initiatives in both the World Bank and United Nations. Products
Pesticides
Chlorpyrifos was until 2000 one of the most widely used household pesticide in the US. However, chlorpyrifos is also a nerve toxin and suspected endocrine disruptor and has been associated with carcinogenicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity, and acute toxicity. One study claims that Dow has contributed to 80% of the Chlorpyrifos burden of the US. In 1995, Dow was fined $732,000 for not sending the EPA reports it had received on 249 Dursban poisoning incidents. In June 2000, Dow withdrew registration of chlorpyrifos for use in homes and other places where children could be exposed, and severely restricted its use on crops. The company, however, continues to market Dursban in industrializing countries, including India, where Dow's sales literature claimed Dursban has "an established record of safety regarding humans and pets." In 2003, Dow agreed to pay $2 million - the largest penalty ever in a pesticide case - to the state of New York, in response to a lawsuit filed by the Attorney General to end Dow's illegal advertising of Dursban as "safe".
Human rights controversies
Napalm During the Vietnam War, Dow became the sole supplier of napalm to the United States military. Napalm, an incendiary liquid used as a weapon in Vietnam, led to human casualties that were widely displayed in the news media. Protests of Dow took place at many colleges but Dow's board of directors voted to continue production of napalm (after attempting to persuade the U.S. Department of Defense to accept responsibility for napalm and exculpate Dow's management). Agent Orange Agent Orange, a chemical defoliant containing dioxin, was also manufactured by Dow for use by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War; the dioxin from the defoliant made its way into the food chain and was linked to a major increase in birth defects among Vietnamese people. In 2005, a lawsuit was filed by Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange against Dow and Monsanto, which also supplied Agent Orange to the military. The companies argued that no link between Agent Orange and the alleged health problems had been proven, and furthermore that the companies are not responsible for the manner in which their products are used by the military.[18] The lawsuit was thrown out.[19] In 2006, a court in South Korea did order Dow and Monsanto to compensate South Korean veterans of the Vietnam War and their families for Agent Orange-related injuries.[20]
Board of directors Current members of the board of directors of The Dow Chemical Company are Arnold Allemang (who is also a senior adviser to the company); chemistry professor Jacqueline Barton; former Boeing manager James A. Bell; Whirlpool Corporation chairman and CEO Jeff Fettig; former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Barbara Franklin; Dow chairman and CEO Andrew N. Liveris; Dow CFO Geoffery E. Merszei; Illinois Tool Works Inc. vice chairman James Ringler; Duke Energy Corporation president Ruth Shaw; and Claris Capital chairman Paul Stern (who is Dow's presiding director and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.)[23] 2007 dismissals On April 12, Dow dismissed two senior executives for "unauthorized discussions with third parties about the potential sale of the company." The two figures are executive vice president Romeo Kreinberg, and director and former CFO J. Pedro Reinhard. Dow claims they were secretly in contact with J. P. Morgan; at the same time, a story surfaced in Britain's Sunday Express regarding a possible leveraged buyout of Dow. The two executives have since filed lawsuits claiming they were fired for being a threat to CEO Liveris, and that the allegations were concocted as a pretext.[24]
Dow CEO Andrew N. Liveris called 2005 the company's "best year ever" with operating profits of $5.4 billion, a jump of 56.5% compared with the previous year. [27] Net income rose more than 60% to $4.5 billion, on sales of $46.3 billion. 2006 looks as if it could be even better, with first-quarter net earnings of $1.2 billion. [28] All this is occurring in the context of adverse operating conditions, caused by high energy and raw material costs, and the effects of two damaging hurricanes.
Liveris supports the vertically integrated approach used at Dow, which produces everything from basic chemical feedstocks to high value products such as pesticides and reverse osmosis membranes. These value-adding product chains, along with Dow's wide product range, help the company to weather the storms of the global economy. Despite this, high energy and feedstock costs may begin to take their toll, particularly if global demand begins to fall just as supply is rising.
Like many chemical companies, Dow is facing pressures of regulation in the US and Europe, particularly as the EU introduces its new REACH policy. Litigation costs in the US taken over by Dow as a result of its 2001 takeover of Union Carbide also remain a concern.
For these reasons the company is looking to the Middle East and Asia for new projects. In Kuwait , Dow is constructing (with PIC of Kuwait) a new world-scale ethane cracker for production of ethylene, along with an ethylene oxide/ethylene glycol plant and (for 2008) a facility for production of aromatic hydrocarbons. In Oman, the company is working with the Oman government to build a new world-scale polyethylene plant. In China, the company is collaborating with Shenhua Group (the country's largest coal mining company) to improve catalyst efficiency to allow viable conversion of coal to olefins. Dow is also seeking to expand its R&D presence in Asia, adding 600 jobs in Shanghai by the end of 2007, and the company may open up a large R&D center in India.
The joint ventures planned for Asia are typical of Dow's "asset-light" approach, which works by offering a combination of intellectual property and money in exchange for a share in a world-scale production facility. At the same time, the company is considering selling a share of some of its existing assets in order to free up cash.
In June 2006 Liveris announced Dow's safety and environmental goals for 2015: [28]
75% reduction in environmental, health and safety indicators from 2005. The company aims to have no fatalities, and a reduction in injuries, spillages and leaks.
25% increase in energy efficiency.
2.5% annual reduction in greenhouse gas emissions intensity.
Liveris expects these goals to be reached predominantly with fossil fuels, through energy conservation and reduction of energy intensity, as he does not expect alternative energy to play a major role for at least 10-20 years.
The Human Element
The Dow Chemical Company has from the 20th of June 2006 run several advertisements in a variety of media, starting with a video campaign and under the theme "The Human Element", designed to increase the awareness of the human aspect of the company, to highlight its vision of addressing some of the most pressing economic, social and environmental concerns facing the global community in the coming decade.[29] The advertisements feature a human face with 7E+09 at the bottom. The face is behind a fake periodic table entry, labeled "Hu", symbolizing the new element, the human element.[30]
[edit] Notes
1.^ Hall of Fame Inventor Profile. National Inventors Hall of Fame.
2.^ Corporate Profile. The Dow Chemical Company.
3.^ Fast Facts. The Dow Chemical Company.
4.^ Corporate Profile. The Dow Chemical Company.
5.^ Chemical and Engineering News, Vol. 84, Issue 22 (May 29, 2006), pp 10-15
6.^ ANGUS Chemical Company. The Dow Chemical Company.
7.^ Chemical and Engineering News, Vol. 84, Issue 22 (May 29, 2006), pp 10-15
8.^ Dow Chemical. University of Michigan Department of Geography.
9.^ Brandt, E.N. (1997). Growth Company: Dow Chemical's First Century. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Press. ISBN 0-87013-426-4.
10.^ Dow Announces Plant Closures To Strengthen Competitive Position. The Dow Chemical Company (August 31, 2006).
11.^ Political Economy Research Institute
12.^ Center for Public Integrity
13.^ On This Day: December 3, 1984. British Broadcasting Corporation.
14.^ Response: Union Carbide and Dow Chemical. British Broadcasting Corporation (November 25, 2004).
15.^ "Panel Confirms No Major Illness Tied to Implants" (June 21, 1999), The New York Times
16.^ Chronology of silicone breast implants. Frontline
17.^ Colas, André; Curtis, Jim (2004). Biomaterials Science, Second Edition: An Introduction to Materials in Medicine. Elsevier, Academic Press. ISBN 978-0125824637.
18.^ Agent Orange lawsuit opens in US. BBC (March 1, 2005).
19.^ US won't compensate Vietnam's Agent Orange victims: official. Todayonline.com (June 6, 2006).
20.^ Court rules against U.S. firms on Agent Orange. MSNBC (January 26, 2006).
21.^ About Dow Corning. Dow Corning.
22.^ Wade, Cheryl (June 24, 2006). Governor visits HSC; expansion plans on schedule. Midland Daily News.
23.^ Board of Directors. The Dow Chemical Company.
24.^ ""Former Dow executives fight back"", Chemical and Engineering News: 12, May 14, <http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/85/i20/8520notw6.html>
25.^ The Dow Event Center. The Dow Chemical Company.
26.^ Welcome to the Dow Event Center. Dow Event Center.
27.^ "Top 50 Chemical Producers", Chemical and Engineering News, Vol. 84, Issue 20 (May 15, 2006), pp 10-15
28.^ a b "Liveris Tells It Like It Is", Chemical and Engineering News, Vol. 84, Issue 22 (May 29, 2006), pp 10-15
29.^ Dow Chemical Launches "The Human Element" Campaign. The Dow Chemical Company.
30.^ Dow Chemical Unveils the Human Element. Ainsley Gibson, posted July 5, 2006.
[edit] External links
The Dow Chemical Company
Dow History
Dow Chemical Corporate News
Dow Chemical Company Information from Hoovers
Dow Chemical Company stock performance chart from Gstock
President George Hamilton will leave Dow Automotive (Automotive News [10]).
[11], Home page of "The Human Element" campaign
Contact details
- Address: UK HQ, Latchmore Court,Brand Street,HITCHIN SG5 1NH
- Tel: 01462 457272
- E-mail: DowAgroSciencesUK@dow.com
- Website: http://dowagro.com/uk/
