Dow Chemical (Midland, Michigan / USA; www.dow.com) has grouped all of its plastics portfolio together in a new division to be called Performance Plastics and headed by Howard Ungerleider, currently vice president for investor relations. Performance Plastics will absorb the former Solution Polyethylene, Wire & Cable, Elastomers, Films and Packaging Resins businesses as well as the Packaging and Converting Unit currently part of Advanced Materials. CEO Andrew Liveris said the new entity will be technology and market-driven, focusing “intensely” on downstream applicatios such as packaging, health & hygiene and food.

The US chemical giant said the formation of the new division reflects its “active portfolio management” approach to the plastics business following last year’s divestment of the styrenics activities now trading as Styron (www.styron.com) – see Plasteurope.com of 21.06.2010. The new strategy, it added, said, has resulted in the “de-emphasis of commodity plastics.” Presenting 2010 annual results last month, Liveris said one of Dow’s goals is to “further tilt the plastics franchise toward higher-margin, specialty applications” – see Plasteurope.com of 08.02.2011.