Dow at 125: A ‘fair share' of challenges, successes

Before 2022 races to a close, let's recognize a very rare business milestone — the 125th birthday of Dow Inc.

In 1897, after a few false starts, Herbert Dow rounded up investors in Cleveland and Michigan to finance a bleach plant. America's first comic strip—The Katzenjammer Kids—debuted that same year, as did the Boston Marathon.

"All told, (stockholders) provided Herbert Dow with $83,333 in new capital," E.N. Brandt wrote in a Dow company history published in 1997. "It was more money than he had ever had before. His new company, the Dow Chemical Co., was under way."

Midland, Mich.-based Dow has come a long way since then. Today, the firm employs almost 36,000 worldwide and ranks as one of the world's largest producers of polyethylene resin and other specialty plastics and chemicals.

Dow officially marked the big 1-2-5 in May. CEO Jim Fitterling, who's been with the firm since 1984 and has held that title since 2018, commented on the event at the time.

"Living your values during a season of success can feel simple," he wrote in a blog post. "In the face of challenges, however, it can be far more difficult.

"The last 125 years have presented their fair share of both. What matters most in these moments is less the result of our efforts, but more so our willingness to keep moving forward no matter the challenge."

Fitterling added that the average lifespan of a U.S. S&P 500 company today is only 15 years.

"Very few companies can lean into the equity of being 125 years old," he said. "And time and time again, I see exactly why we made it this far: hard work, determination, and an unwavering allegiance to our core values: integrity, respect for people and protecting our planet.

"Advocating for what is right—for our culture, for our customers, for our communities—has never gone out of style. In fact, it provides the basis for us to move forward and create solutions to the world's biggest challenges and help transform the world for the better," he wrote. "Our heritage, team, and purpose have all played different but equally important roles in building the last 125 years at Dow. And they will continue to strengthen us through the next 125 years."

Dow in 2022 is addressing modern challenges, according to Karen Carter, the firm's chief human resources officer and chief inclusion officer.

"Some people think focusing on inclusion and diversity is new at Dow, but it is not," she wrote in another blog post. "Inclusion and diversity has been a priority for decades, and I along with many others have been involved in these efforts throughout my entire career."

Carter—who has been with Dow since 1994—added that an inclusive culture, a diverse workforce and an equitable workplace "strongly position us to address the most pressing challenges of the world, capitalize on new opportunities and anticipate and overcome the challenges ahead."

"I feel an incredible sense of urgency to do my part to leave Dow better … to leave the planet better … to leave society better," Carter said. "Our children and their children will look back on this very moment and talk about what we did or did not do, and the world they live in will determine if we made a positive difference."

Looking ahead, Carter said that "at Dow, our strategy is to decarbonize and grow…This will not be easy, it's ambitious, and is only achievable with a diverse team where everyone can grow and thrive in a workplace that is inclusive and fair for all."

Fitterling, Carter and many other Dow employees over those 125 years also have benefited from the example that Herbert Dow set with his work ethic. According to the company history, Dow one day was walking through its machine shop in Midland and came across a machinist who was hard at work amid a floor that was covered in metal shavings.

Dow asked the machinist why he didn't clean up the mess, to which the machinist responded, "I'm busy making this cut. Clean it up yourself." In response, Herbert Dow found a broom and shovel and cleaned the floor himself.

It also takes confidence to make it to 125. This was on display in another Herbert Dow quote when asked about competition for a piston that Dow made in its early days.

"I am very sure," he said, "That we have a superior product."