MIDLAND, Mich. (Sept. 1) — Dow Chemical Co. will close a toluene diisocyanate plant in Porto Marghera, Italy, and a facility in Sarnia, Ontario, that produces latex, polyols, polystyrene and low density polyethylene.
Latex production will end at the Sarnia plant by the end of 2008.
The company also will close its Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, site, where it produces chlor-alkali and ethylene dichloride, by the end of October.
The Porto Marghera plant had been closed for planned maintenance in August, but will be shuttered permanently because of weak TDI fundamentals, which Dow said are the result of excess global capacity.
Ironically, Dow announced it was raising the price of TDI by 15 cents shortly after it said it planned to close the plants.
The closings will cost Dow between $550 million and $650 million in the third quarter but are expected to yield annual cost savings of about $160 million. The number of jobs affected was not released.