Dow to expand Hahnville plant

Growth will mean a 150 jobs for parish

The Dow Chemical Company has announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Union Carbide Corporation, will invest in new ethyleneamine capacity at the St. Charles Operations site in Hahnville, La., by expanding an existing production plant and building a new production plant.

Expected to be complete by mid-2007, the site project will create approximately 150 construction jobs on average, with as many as 250 contractors working on the project during peak times.

The expansion of the St. Charles Operations ethyleneamines manufacturing complex will help Dow meet a growing market demand for ethylenediamine and diethylenetriamine - chemicals that help in making numerous end-products that consumers buy every day such as paper towels, fabric softener, and household cleaners. DETA is also a key ingredient in cationic primers for automobiles, and it is used in the paints that marks our highways nationwide.

St. Charles Operations is one of the largest manufacturing complexes in the state with more than 2,000 employees and contract workers, and 17 production units. Site Leader Nawzer Parakh says the expansion is an affirmation of Dow's continued support of the current $3.9 billion investment at the site that has been a vital part of the river parishes community for the past 40 years.

"We are very excited about this expansion at St. Charles Operations. The investment further contributes to the sustainable development of this site, following the recent addition of our newly constructed Latex plant that came online at the beginning of this year. We are happy that Dow can help grow Louisiana's economy with projects that are beneficial to Dow, our customers, and the local community." said Parakh.