Today the Performance Monomers business of The Dow Chemical Company announces a 10% increase in capacity for the production of Glycidyl Methacrylate (GMA) at its Freeport,Texas facility. This results from a successful debottlenecking initiative that addresses Dow's need to increase GMA capacity for its strategic customers. Key drivers for this effort include improving process and mechanical reliability.
David Mongrue, Global Business Manufacturing Director for Performance Monomers states, "Through the GMA debottlenecking initiative, Dow made significant process and reliability improvements, which delivered a considerable increase in plant capacity in less than a year. This further reinforces Dow's commitment towards delivering on our strategy of being a highly reliable organization and growing with our strategic customers."
Customers view GMA as a high value product that offers compelling performance advantages. Dow is currently the leading worldwide supplier of GMA, which is a high purity, dual functionality monomer ideally suited for coating and resin applications. Primary applications for GMA include automotive and powder coatings, radiation curable coatings, waterborne resins, industrial and protective finishes, appliance and hardware finishes, adhesives, electrical laminates, hydrogenated LER substitutes as well as plastic modifiers.
Dow combines the power of science and technology with the "Human Element" to passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. The Company connects chemistry and innovation with the principles of sustainability to help address many of the world's most challenging problems such as the need for clean water, renewable energy generation and conservation, and increasing agricultural productivity. Dow's diversified industry-leading portfolio of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in approximately 160 countries and in high growth sectors such as electronics, water, energy, coatings and agriculture. In 2010, Dow had annual sales of $53.7 billion and employed approximately 50,000 people worldwide. The Company's more than 5,000 products are manufactured at 188 sites in 35 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