[December 03, 2012]

Dow Performance Packaging Strengthens Focus on Profitable Innovation

Dow Performance Packaging, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW), announced today it has reached a new innovation milestone by creating 42 new products for the high performance packaging sector in 2012 - achieving a run rate of nearly one new product per week in the year. These new and expanded lines of high performance resins, films and adhesive products are expected to deliver more than 100 million pounds of new business in North America alone in 2013 and further shifts Dow participation into higher value applications.

This achievement also strengthens Dow's commitment to be the go-to innovator in the global packaging sector and to deliver new solutions for better packaging worldwide.

Dow is the largest supplier to the $500 billion global packaging sector, and the Company is well-known for its innovative technologies and broad portfolio of high performance materials for the fast growing food and beverage packaging market.

New Technologies for Better Packaging

As global demand continues to increase for high performance plastic packaging, Dow is at the forefront of significant advancements that enable new, improved and more sustainable packaging innovations. These address key consumer demands and trends, such as packages that keep food fresh longer; packages that are lighter, yet stronger; and closures that are easy to open and reseal, which enable new levels of consumer convenience.

Some examples of new technologies commercially introduced to market this year include:

• ELITE^TM Advanced Technology (AT) Polyethylene (PE) Resins, which enable enhanced sealing, physical properties and processability.
• SEALUTIONTM Peel Polymers that deliver consistent peel strength over time, enabling strong seal strength for package fillers (such as food companies) while making packages easier to open for consumers.
• MOR-FREE^TM Solventless Adhesives, a fast-cure adhesive system that helps speed up packaging lines, delivering new levels of productivity and efficiency.
• ADCOTE™ Adhesives and Coatings, which are solvent-based adhesives that help improve the performance of packages that deliver a 180-day shelf life (unopened).

Dow ensures rapid commercialization of these innovations through collaborative, solution-centric relationships that are managed across the value chain, as well as by providing the opportunity for customers to test new technologies under real-world processing conditions at one of Dow's six international technical centers.

At its Film Application Development Center (FADC) in Freeport, Texas, customers can work with the industry's latest film packaging applications without the cost and down time associated with using their own production facilities. The state-of-the-art facility offers customers and formulators the opportunity to conceptualize, fabricate, test and validate the latest packaging applications on commercial scale equipment including blown film and cast film lines. Over the last five years, products launched commercially after tests at the FADC have contributed 25 percent of total sales for Dow sold into packaging applications in North America.

"The equipment and testing enhancements to the Film Application Development Center as well as the breadth of product launches in 2012 showcases Dow's commitment to collaborating with our customers and members of the value chain," said Greg Jozwiak, commercial vice president, North America, Packaging, Hygiene & Medical and Polyethylene. "Dow will continue to focus on high growth markets, producing the industry's most innovative technologies and addressing major trends such as consumer convenience and sustainability."

In addition to accelerating Dow's own innovation engine, the Company's Film Application Development Center strengthens the business's approach to help protect and create new markets for plastics in packaging as well. The Center has hosted more than 100 companies this year alone, providing fast answers and the opportunity to accelerate the development of new and value-creating packaging solutions.

About Dow

Dow (NYSE: DOW) combines the power of science and technology 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 2011, Dow had annual sales of $60 billion and employed approximately 52,000 people worldwide. The Company's more than 5,000 products are manufactured at 197 sites in 36 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.

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