The Dow Chemical Company announced its plans to construct a new manufacturing facility to be located in Burley, Idaho. The new facility will be operated by Dow Building Solution (DBS), a business unit within Dow, and produce STYROFOAM™ Brand Extruded Polystyrene (XPS) Insulation – a leading thermal insulation solution facilitating sustainability, innovation and community success in the building and construction industry since its discovery in 1941.
Building upon its 75 years of innovation, the STYROFOAM™ Brand Insulation facility will come online utilizing DOW BLUEDGE™ Polymeric Flame Retardant Technology – an invention that is transforming the market as the next-generation industry standard flame retardant for use in polystyrene foam insulation, as it meets the demands of global energy efficiency regulations and sustainable building design.
The construction of the new XPS facility exemplifies Dow’s commitment to the DBS growth strategy and strengthens its ability to deliver sustainable insulation solutions to customers, especially in Western Canada and the United States. The facility also demonstrates Dow’s pledge to provide world-leading operations performance in natural resource efficiency, environment, health, and safety, as outlined in Dow’s 2025 Sustainability goals.
“The construction of this new facility will allow us to respond to market demand and deliver sustainable building solutions to our customers,” said Tim Lacey, global business director for Dow Building Solutions. “The strong collaboration with the city of Burley has been critical to reach this agreement and we look forward to continuing that exemplary collaboration together into the future.”
“Dow’s decision to build in Burley speaks volumes about the quality of our workforce, the business- friendliness of our State and communities, and the great diversity that we are developing in Idaho’s economy,” Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter said. “It’s always great to welcome a new corporate citizen to Idaho, and I’m especially excited about the opportunities for existing Idaho businesses to help meet the supply chain needs of this new enterprise.”
“We are thrilled to have a company such as Dow locating in Burley” said director of Economic Development, Doug Manning. “They are a world leader in business and innovation, and the immediate and future economic impact on this community will be exceptional. It’s a great ‘win’ for the City of Burley to have a Fortune 50 Company locating here. This has been a complete collaborative effort from the State, the City, Burley Development Authority, Southern Idaho Economic Development Organization, and other local entities. We are excited to have Dow as a new community partner. They have been absolutely wonderful in working with all of us to make this project happen,” he said.
Groundbreaking on the 60,000 square feet project is expected to occur in 2016 with project completion targeted for the latter portion of 2017. Manufacturing of STYROFOAM™ XPS Insulation is expected to begin in early 2018. Construction of the project will employ approximately 80 workers during peak construction and create 21 full-time manufacturing jobs at the height of operation.
About Polymeric Flame Retardant
In March 2011, Dow Global Technologies LLC (DGTL), a subsidiary of Dow, announced the invention and development of DOW BLUEDGE™ Polymeric Flame Retardant Technology — a stable, high molecular weight, non-hazardous polymer with an enhanced Environment, Health & Safety profile compared to current alternatives. The additive provides a fire safety solution for extruded (XPS) and expanded (EPS) foams enabling these thermal insulation materials to continue to meet the increasing demands of global energy efficiency regulations and sustainable building design. More information on DOW BLUEDGE Technology can be found on the Dow Building Solutions website.
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 clean water, clean energy generation and conservation, and increasing agricultural productivity. Dow's integrated, market-driven, 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 180 countries and in high-growth sectors such as packaging, electronics, water, coatings and agriculture. In 2015, Dow had annual sales of nearly $49 billion and employed approximately 49,500 people worldwide. The Company's more than 6,000 product families are manufactured at 179 sites in 35 countries across the globe. On June 1, 2016, Dow became the 100 percent owner of Dow Corning Corporation’s silicones business, a global company with sales of greater than $4.5 billion in 2015, 25 manufacturing sites in 9 countries and approximately 10,000 employees worldwide. 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.
About Burley, Idaho
The City of Burley is located in South Central Idaho, and is the geographical center between Seattle/Portland and Metropolitan Denver. Nestled along the banks of the scenic Snake River, the city and county seat has a population of approximately 11,000 within the city limits, and is the marketing center for an area of 50,000 people. Known as a food processing and manufacturing center, the community has led the State of Idaho since 2007 in the percentage of job growth at 9.5%. Burley also enjoys a robust economy that is centered on agri-business and boasts a skilled and well-trained labor force. The beautiful Snake River and the local mountains also provide tremendous recreational opportunities.