On July 1, Dow Chemical Co. had $600 million more in sales than it had the day before.
The one-day gain did not result from a salesman's efforts, but from the Midland, Mich.-based firm reclaiming three businesses after the formal dissolution of the DuPont Dow Elastomers LLC joint venture.
In January, Dow and Wilmington, Del.-based DuPont Co. decided to end the 9-year-old partnership, which posted sales of $1.2 billion in 2004. Each company is essentially taking back what it brought to the partnership in 1996. Dow will take back its Engage-brand polyolefin elastomers and Nordel ethylene propylene diene monomer as well as its Tyrin chlorinated polyethylene. DuPont will retain its Neoprene, Hypalon and Viton thermoset elastomer units, as well as its Kalrez-brand high-performance fabricated parts.
Sales of the divided parts equal $600 million for each company. DuPont also will pay Dow $87 million for a remaining equity interest in the business.
The Engage, Nordel and Tyrin businesses now will be merged into Dow's Specialty Plastics and Elastomers unit. In a June 29 telephone interview, unit Vice President Julie Fasone Holder said her group had been planning the integration for some time, hiring people and assembling ``a very exciting portfolio of products.''
``This is an opportunity for us to offer a broader array to meet the needs of our customers,'' she said.
Other businesses in Dow's Specialty Plastics and Elastomers unit include Affinity-brand polyolefin elastomers and Saran-brand polyvinylidene fluoride. The addition of the DuPont Dow businesses will bring the unit's annual sales total to $2 billion and will add 120 technical and commercial employees to the Dow ranks.
Engage and Nordel are both made in Plaquemine, La., and are sold primarily into the automotive market. Engage is used as a modifier for thermoplastic olefins, while Nordel is used in hoses, tires and belts. Tyrin is produced in Freeport, Texas, and Stade, Germany, and is used as an impact modifier in vinyl siding and PVC pipe.
Dow has no plans to add capacity for any of the three products in the near future, Fasone Holder said. Taken as a whole, about 40 percent of sales from the trio come from North America, with 30 percent from Europe and 25 percent from Asia, she added.
According to Fasone Holder, customer service and product delivery will not be affected by the transfer.
