Dow Ringwood's Illinois Production Facility Gets ‘Cash Back’

RINGWOOD, IL—June 12, 2012—On June 6th, representatives from Dow’s (NYSE: Dow) Ringwood, IL production facility were presented with a big check, in every sense of the word. Kevin Kirby, vice president for Midwest utility provider Nicor Gas, an AGL Resources Company, handed over an oversized check for $65,000 as part of their "Energy Efficiency Program" at the plant site. The event marks the culmination of a two-year effort by the site to reduce energy costs and increase sustainability awareness. The check was gratefully received by Karen Wilkins, Ringwood site manager.

The Ringwood site is legally owned by Rohm and Haas, a subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company.

"The work of the Ringwood team is a great example of the power of ‘and,’" says Dan Rader, business manufacturing leader for Dow Adhesives & Functional Materials. "These efforts improved the competitiveness of the site and did so while improving the sustainability of the products we make there. It fits perfectly with the triple bottom line of sustainability—planet, profit and the people that make it happen."

During a brainstorming session at the end of 2010, the team at Ringwood identified 45 potential energy saving projects. After narrowing these down to eight key areas, a diverse team of representatives from every facet of the facility got to work.

One of the largest projects was retrofitting the sites’ boilers. "Newer, more energy efficient burners were installed," said Mark Wilson, production engineer at the Ringwood site. "We also replaced the economizers on our boilers as well. They essentially recycle excess heat and keep the water in the boilers warm, so less energy is needed to heat it to a boil."

The results? Between 2010 and 2011 the Ringwood plant reduced its energy consumption by 56,000 MMBtu, the equivalent of saving approximately 56 million cubic feet of natural gas. Ringwood’s accomplishments were recently recognized with one of the American Chemistry Council’s (ACC) Responsible Care Awards for their energy-saving efforts.

"Everyone learned a lot about energy reduction—and continues to share that knowledge with others across the site," said Karen Wilkins. "We are grateful for the Nicor Gas Energy Efficiency Program and the opportunity to save both energy and money. We will be investing this back into plant operations. What we accomplished this past year, and what we intend to do in the future will enable Ringwood to continue to drive energy consumption savings for years to come!"

Dow’s Ringwood site is one of the largest and most versatile in the Adhesives and Functional Materials network, and makes a variety of solvent-based, solventless, and cold-seal adhesives, as well as a number of other specialty products. These materials are used to make some of the latest packaging for food, beverages, and many other uses. Ringwood has been in operation since the 1940s.

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.

Source: Dow.