Producer
Dow Chemical
American materials science company (NYSE: DOW, HQ Midland MI); one of 5 named dominant US IPA producers. Historical data shows Dow held ~12% of the IPA market from its Texas City, TX facility (906 million lb / 411,000 MT capacity as of ~2003). Dow's IPA operations are part of its Performance Monomers & Solvents business. Dow announced $250M expansion of its Louisiana IPA plant in Q4 2023. Dow's Freeport TX site is the largest chemical production complex in the Western Hemisphere — same campus produces IPA alongside ethylene, propylene, polyethylene, epoxy, and dozens of other chemicals. Dow is the #2 IPA producer in the US. Dow also makes high-purity electronic-grade IPA for semiconductor applications through its purification technology.
7
Inputs supplied
6
Goods downstream
3
Facilities
0
Stories
What they make
7 inputs Dow Chemical supplies
Click an input to see every good that depends on it, every country that produces it, and every other company in the supply chain.
chemical
Dimethicone / Cosmetic Silicone Polymers →
chemical
Acrylic / Styrene-Acrylic Polymer Emulsion →
manufactured
Polyethylene (LDPE/HDPE) Film for Retail Packaging →
chemical
Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA) →
chemical
Propylene Glycol (PG) Cosolvent →
chemical
Ethylene Oxide (EO) →
chemical
High-Density Polyethylene Resin for PEX Pipe →
Where it shows up
Goods downstream
Essential goods that depend on something Dow Chemical makes — pick one to see the full supply chain.
Where they make it
3 facilities
Dow Map Ta Phut PG Complex →
THRayong Province · chemical_manufacturing
Largest propylene glycol plant in Asia-Pacific at 250,000 t/yr after 80,000 t expansion completed May 2024; co-located with ethylene oxide production; sole sourcing risk for Asian architectural paint cosolvent supply
Dow Midland Michigan Brine Complex (Dow's Founding Site) →
USMidland, Michigan · mine
The birthplace of Dow Chemical (1897) and the US chlor-alkali industry. Herbert Dow pioneered electrolytic brine processing here beginning with his first brine well in 1892. The Midland brine field, containing naturally occurring bromine alongside sodium chloride, remains the foundation of Dow's Michigan operations for bromine, magnesia, calcium chloride, and chlor-alkali. EGLE (Michigan environment agency) has been working with Dow to plug ~150 historic brine wells from early operations.
Freeport TX Chemical Complex →
USTexas · chemical_plant
Dow's Freeport, Texas campus — the largest chemical production complex in the Western Hemisphere — produces isopropyl alcohol alongside dozens of other petrochemicals. Dow announced $250M expansion of its Louisiana IPA plant in Q4 2023 (exact Louisiana facility TBD). Historical data shows Dow had ~411,000 MT IPA capacity in the US. Source: https://corporate.dow.com/en-us/locations/freeport.html
What else they do
Business segments
The company's full revenue map — where this supply-chain role fits within their broader business.
Packaging & Specialty Plastics
45%Industrial Intermediates & Infrastructure
35%Performance Materials & Coatings
20%
Intelligence
What's known
Sourced claims about this company's role in supply chains — chokepoints, concentration, incidents, dual-use connections.
Did you know2022
Dow Chemical was literally founded in 1897 on the brine deposits beneath Midland, Michigan — Herbert Dow drilled his first brine well in 1892 and pioneered electrolytic extraction of bromine and chlorine from Midland's subsurface brine at a time when Germany held a global monopoly on bromine production. Dow's first product was bleach produced from Michigan brine. The 130-year-old brine wells beneath Midland, Michigan remain active today (EGLE is working with Dow to plug ~150 historic wells from early operations). The US chlor-alkali and specialty chemical industry's founding story is inseparable from a specific underground brine deposit in central Michigan.
Science History Institute Digital Collection ↗Origin2023
Dow was founded in 1897 by Herbert Dow on the brine deposits beneath Midland, Michigan — pioneering electrolytic extraction of bromine and chlorine from subsurface brine at a time when Germany controlled the global bromine market. Herbert Dow's "Dow Process" broke the German chemical cartel's grip on bromine prices, and the same electrolytic technology was the foundation for Dow's century of chlor-alkali dominance. After a 2017-2019 merger with DuPont (creating DowDuPont) and subsequent three-way split, Dow emerged as a standalone materials science company focused on packaging resins, silicones, and industrial chemicals.
Dow Chemical ↗