Dow Chemical (Midland, Michigan / USA; www.dow.com) and Kuwait’s Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC, Sabahiya; www.pic.com.kw) have revealed details of their planned 50:50 USD 11 bn joint venture in petrochemicals and plastics – see Plasteurope.com of 17.12.2007. The company to be named K-Dow Petrochemicals (KDP) will have its world headquarters in the southeastern part of Michigan, Dow’s home state, and will be headed as CEO by the Dow veteran of 24 years, James R. Fitterling, currently the business group president for Dow Basic Plastics and a member of the corporate management and business operations committees.

The jv, which is to be finalised by the end of 2008, clearly expects state and local “financial incentives” and evidently plans to make its choice of a city based on the aid package offered. According to Dow, factors favouring southeastern Michigan – which according to US media beat out competition from Texas and Louisiana – were “convenient international airport access” (Detroit), along with the “culturally diverse” population of the area, which reports say includes a sizeable Arab-American contingent.

Jennifer M. Granholm, governor of the financially depressed state that has suffered from the downturn of the US automotive industry and recently lost out to Tennessee in the fight to acquire a Volkswagen plant, said she expects K-Dow Petrochemicals to bring “hundreds of jobs to our state,” where the chemical giant has been “an important factor” in the economy for more than 100 years. Eventually, 800 people are to be employed at KDP headquarters.

The new company’s portfolio will include polyethylene, ethyleneamines, ethanolamines, polypropylene and polycarbonate and will have related licensing and catalyst technologies. As part of the deal to establish the joint venture, Dow agreed to sell to PIC a 50% stake in five of its existing global petrochemical businesses valued at USD 19 bn, in exchange for a USD 9.5 bn cash payment.