Dow to idle SBR plant in Netherlands

AMSTERDAM (Feb. 5)—Dow Chemical Co. plans to idle its emulsion SBR plant in Pernis, Netherlands, for the rest of the year, starting in March. The Pernis unit had been scheduled to undergo a regular maintenance shutdown, according to a company spokesman, but Dow now has decided not to commit this multimillion-dollar project at this stage, in view of current trading conditions. Dow has yet to make a final decision on the future of the 85,000 metric-tons-per-year facility, the spokesman said. Dow acquired the Pernis plant in 1999 with its purchase of Shell Chemical Co.´s general-purpose rubber business.