Dow Chemical 2009 Annual Report Download - page 9

2009 Annual Report 7
THIRD QUARTER
On July 1, Dow announces a restructuring plan that will
streamline the Company’s manufacturing footprint and is
expected to achieve more than $100 million in annual savings.
This plan is in addition to the restructuring plan announced
in the fourth quarter of 2008 and includes the shutdown of a
number of manufacturing assets, particularly in Dow’s Basics
portfolio. These actions are aligned with the Company’s
strategic transformation, which focuses on preferential
investment in its Performance businesses.
Dow AgroSciences and Monsanto Company announce the
completion of U.S. and Canadian regulatory authorizations
for
SmartStax ™ technology, the agriculture industry’s most
advanced, all-in-one corn trait platform.
On the same day second quarter earnings are announced, Dow
sets in motion its fourth non-strategic divestiture of 2009,
with plans to divest its ownership stake in OPTIMAL Group
of Companies, nonconsolidated affiliates, for $660 million. The
transaction closes on the last day of the quarter. Proceeds are
used to pay down debt.
Dow prices a $2.75 billion public offering of debt securities, the
proceeds from which are used to repay a portion of the bridge loan.
Dow Kokam, a proposed joint venture between Dow and TK
Advanced Battery, is awarded a $161 million federal grant from
the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a new generation of
high-power battery technology to supply the automotive industry.
Dow and Alstom Power, Inc. announce the successful start-up
of the pilot plant to capture carbon dioxide from the flue gas of
a coal-fired boiler at the Dow-owned facility in South Charleston,
West Virginia.
Dow completes the sale of its interests in TRN.
Dow AgroSciences announces that its affiliated cottonseed
company, PhytoGen, has reached 10 percent of the total U.S.
cottonseed units sold.
Dow earns the R&D 100 Award for INFUSE™ Olefin
Block Copolymers.
Dow and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
announce plans to establish the Dow Middle East R&D Center
at the university’s Research Park and Innovation Cluster.
FOURTH QUARTER
Dow completes the sale of Morton Salt. Approximately
$1 billion in proceeds from the transaction are used to fully
repay the outstanding balance of the bridge loan, and the
remaining proceeds are used to pay down other debt, in line
with the Company’s broader deleveraging plan.
Dow unveils its line of POWERHOUSE™ Solar Shingles,
revolutionary photovoltaic shingles that can be integrated
into rooftops with standard asphalt shingle materials.
TIME
Magazine names POWERHOUSE Solar Shingles one of
“The 50 Best Inventions of 2009.”
Dow and BASF SE jointly announce their support for the
Patent Asset Index™, a new methodology that measures R&D
effectiveness and innovation strength and how these factors lead
to sustained competitive advantage. Results show Dow is among
the most innovative companies in the global chemical industry.
Dow signs an agreement to sell its powder coatings business
to Akzo Nobel N.V. The move is consistent with Dow’s active
portfolio management process and the proceeds will be used to
pay down debt.
Dow announces the formation of Dow Construction Chemicals, a
new business unit that offers in-depth technical knowledge and
effective formulation development experience to manufacturers of
building and construction products around the world.
Dow and Tata Consultancy Services announce plans to form
a business alliance that will provide critical business services
to Dow, its subsidiaries and joint ventures.
Dow Water and Process Solutions announces that its FILMTEC™
Reverse Osmosis Elements have been selected for the new
Southern Seawater Desalination Plant outside Perth, Australia.
Dow announces its alignment with Live Earth to host the Dow
Live Earth Run for Water, the largest solutions-based initiative
aimed at solving the world water crisis.
Dow Izolan, a joint venture company formed between Dow and
Russia-based Izolan, Ltd., inaugurates its new state-of-the-art
polyurethane systems manufacturing facility in Vladimir, Russia.
Dow and Denbury Onshore, LLC sign a memorandum of
understanding to capture by-product carbon dioxide from
Dow’s ethylene oxide plant in Plaquemine, Louisiana, for
use in Denbury’s enhanced oil recovery operations.
Dow Wolff Cellulosics launches METHOCEL™ Gluten Replacer,
a plant-derived gluten replacement solution.