Dow Chemical puts all plastics units under one division

Dow Chemical Co. will fold its plastics business into a new unit that will also oversee sales to packaging and cable customers.

Dow’s new Performance Plastics unit will focus on customers in the personal hygiene, food, telecommunications and other highly profitable sectors, Dow said in a press release.

The new unit will be overseen by Howard Ungerleider, Dow’s former head of investor relations. He will report directly to Dow Chief Executive Andrew Liveris, Midland, Michigan-based Dow said.

The move comes as part of Dow’s new focus on higher-margin materials, rather than its traditional expertise in lower-margin commodity plastics. For more than three years, the company has been trying to sell or spin-off its basic plastics business, which sells low-margin, high-volume commodity plastics. In late 2008 Dow planned a joint venture with Kuwait to spin off its basics plastics business into a stand-alone company called KDow. That plan eventually fell through.