Dow Chemical Co. has completed construction of its new plastics plant in Freeport, Texas, as it nears finalizing its overall expansion effort.
The new polyethylene (PE) plant, which can produce 400,000 metric tons of plastic a year, is part of Dow’s US$6 billion expansion along the U.S. Gulf Coast, primarily at its Freeport campus.
“This milestone further reflects the steady progress our teams are making to bring these multi-phased investments online to enhance our cost-advantaged integration and industry-leading innovation,” said Jim Fitterling, Dow’s president and COO.
The project comes a little more than two months after Dow finished its ethane cracker facility at the Freeport campus. The cracker will produce 1.5 million metric tons a year of ethylene, which is derived from natural gas liquids and is used as the primary building block of most plastics. The facilities will commence operation soon.
The new PE plant, which Dow calls its Elite enhanced PE facility, makes plastics to serve as flexible packaging for food, personal hygiene products, and industrial packaging.
The final part of the Freeport expansion won’t come until late 2018 when Dow finishes its polyolefin elastomers plant. The facility will make polymers that Dow contends bridge the gap between plastics and rubbers.
Dow is also in the process expanding its plastics facilities one state over in Plaquemine, Louisiana.
