MIDLAND, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) today announced that its joint venture in the Middle East—Sadara Chemical Company (Sadara)—has achieved a significant milestone with the commercialization of Sadara’s entire plastics franchise. The start-up of Sadara’s high-pressure low-density polyethylene plant adds to Sadara’s mixed feed cracker and the three additional polyethylene trains currently in operation.

“Sadara is a vital growth investment aligned to Dow’s long-term strategy to go narrower and deeper into our core growth markets,” said Andrew Liveris, Dow’s chairman and chief executive officer. “The completion of this milestone positions Dow to strengthen our global materials science franchise by capturing additional consumer demand and extending our competitive advantage through industry-leading integration and feedstock flexibility.”

The world-scale complex in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, continues to make steady progress on its start-up and commercialization activities. Sadara’s mixed feed cracker—the largest single unit at the facility—began operations in August 2016. The first three polyethylene production units came online in December 2015, April 2016 and September 2016, and each are reactor qualified and have met their license warranty runs. Thirty two polyethylene products have been qualified to date, serving more than 350 customers in 58 countries. Construction of all of Sadara’s 26 production facilities was completed in December 2016.

“Sadara’s plastics units enable Dow to offer a technology-differentiated portfolio in expanding economies across Asia Pacific, India, Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa,” said Jim Fitterling, Dow’s president and chief operating officer. “Our customers have been eagerly anticipating this new volume and will benefit from Sadara’s broad product offering and close proximity to these fast-growing regions.”

The remaining units at the complex are on schedule for a sequenced start-up throughout 2017, including ethylene oxide, propylene oxide and their derivatives (butyl glycol ethers, propylene glycol, amines, and polyols) and isocyanates.

Sadara is a joint venture developed by Dow and Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco). The Sadara chemical complex is the largest of its kind ever built in a single phase. The more than three million metric tons of performance-focused products will add new value chains to the Kingdom’s vast petroleum reserves, resulting in the diversification of the economy and region.

About Dow

Dow (NYSE: DOW) combines the power of science and technology to passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. The Company is driving innovations that extract value from material, polymer, chemical and biological science to help address many of the world's most challenging problems, such as the need for fresh food, safer and more sustainable transportation, clean water, energy efficiency, more durable infrastructure, and increasing agricultural productivity. Dow's integrated, market-driven portfolio delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in 175 countries and in high-growth sectors such as packaging, infrastructure, transportation, consumer care, electronics, and agriculture. In 2016, Dow had annual sales of $48 billion and employed approximately 56,000 people worldwide. The Company's more than 7,000 product families are manufactured at 189 sites in 34 countries across the globe. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted. More information about Dow can be found at www.dow.com.

Note: The forward looking statements contained in this document involve risks and uncertainties that may affect Dow’s operations, markets, products, services, prices and other factors as discussed in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, economic, competitive, legal, governmental and technological factors. Accordingly, there is no assurance that Dow’s expectations will be realized. The Company assumes no obligation to provide revisions to any forward looking statements should circumstances change, except as otherwise required by securities and other applicable laws.

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